1,739 Shares in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Purchased by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter worth $619,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 9.7% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $805,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,895,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 145.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $686,000 after acquiring an additional 2,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total value of $86,510.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total transaction of $914,050.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,508 shares of company stock valued at $2,431,670 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 23.68% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 2.7%

HLI stock opened at $194.71 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $177.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.77. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.99 and a 12-month high of $195.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a PE ratio of 33.46 and a beta of 0.83.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $666.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $628.25 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 21.61% and a net margin of 16.73%. Houlihan Lokey’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $192.00 price target (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.40.

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.