Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Makes New Investment in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 286,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $46,236,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned about 0.41% of Houlihan Lokey as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter valued at $619,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 1.1% in the first 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 during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter valued at $210,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 9.7% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 145.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 2,520 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on HLI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $185.00 to $232.00 in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $192.00 price objective (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total value of $1,431,109.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total value of $86,510.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,508 shares of company stock valued at $2,431,670. Insiders own 22.83% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:HLI opened at $192.90 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $183.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.13. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.99 and a 12-month high of $198.78. The firm has a market cap of $13.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.47 and a beta of 0.86.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.45. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 23.75% and a net margin of 16.46%. The firm had revenue of $605.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $573.07 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.40%.

Houlihan Lokey Profile

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.