Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) General Counsel Christopher M. Crain Sells 500 Shares

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company'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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock traded down $1.06 on Wednesday, hitting $174.32. The stock had a trading volume of 303,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,146. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.14 and a twelve month high of $192.10. The business's 50 day moving average is $163.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.37. The stock has a market cap of $12.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.27 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. 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 an increase from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Houlihan Lokey

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC grew its position in Houlihan Lokey by 21.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 36,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,818,000 after buying an additional 6,483 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Houlihan Lokey by 80.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $979,000 after buying an additional 2,521 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Houlihan Lokey by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,726 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,078,000 after buying an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 341.0% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 307,304 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,366,000 after purchasing an additional 237,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 166,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,834,000 after purchasing an additional 2,559 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on HLI. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $190.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" 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.