FORA Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 3,525 Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $612,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HLI. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 0.1%

Houlihan Lokey stock traded up $0.26 on Tuesday, hitting $178.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 360,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 353,210. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a one year low of $127.14 and a one year high of $192.10. The firm has a market cap of $12.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.99 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $158.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.57.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.35. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The business had revenue of $666.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $628.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HLI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $190.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. 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 note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $185.00.

Houlihan Lokey Company 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.