Polen Capital Management LLC Sells 32,312 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Polen Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 47.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,312 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $6,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 81.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $201.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $180.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.00.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $159.02 on Monday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.81 and a 12-month high of $192.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.35 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.05.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is currently 43.51%.

About Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey, Inc, an investment banking company, provides merger and acquisition (M&A), capital market, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Corporate Finance, Financial Restructuring, and Financial and Valuation Advisory.