Mount Lucas Management LP Invests $512,000 in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Mount Lucas Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,169 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $512,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,168,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 67.0% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 59.7% in the first quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 3,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 47.3% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,531 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 2,098 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 12.1% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 344,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,654,000 after purchasing an additional 37,300 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $192.00 price target (up from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.40.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:HLI traded down $1.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $196.01. 393,857 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 395,889. The business's fifty day moving average is $181.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.35. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a one year low of $137.99 and a one year high of $198.78. The stock has a market cap of $13.68 billion, a PE ratio of 33.68 and a beta of 0.83.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.35. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. The business had revenue of $666.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $628.25 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. The business's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total value of $1,431,109.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total transaction of $86,510.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,508 shares of company stock valued at $2,431,670 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 23.68% of the company's stock.

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.