BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 2,611 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 86,597 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,611 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.12% of Houlihan Lokey worth $15,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,265,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $914,420,000 after acquiring an additional 98,495 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,281,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $569,830,000 after purchasing an additional 208,851 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,875,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $325,651,000 after buying an additional 161,647 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 122.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,041,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $180,815,000 after buying an additional 573,745 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at about $143,559,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

HLI opened at $173.89 on Friday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.14 and a twelve month high of $192.10. The firm has a market cap of $12.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.19 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $158.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.47.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $628.25 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The company's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. This is a positive change from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is currently 43.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on HLI shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $192.00 target price (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $186.40.

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.

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