Mount Lucas Management LP Buys New Stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Mount Lucas Management LP purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,169 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $512,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 39,574.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 686,375 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,108,500,000 after buying an additional 684,645 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth $114,047,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,041,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $180,815,000 after buying an additional 573,745 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter worth $81,420,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1,946.8% in the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 275,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,486,000 after buying an additional 262,000 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total transaction of $914,050.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,508 shares of company stock valued at $2,431,670. Insiders own 23.68% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE HLI traded down $1.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $196.01. 393,857 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 400,895. The company has a market cap of $13.68 billion, a PE ratio of 33.68 and a beta of 0.83. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.99 and a 12 month high of $198.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $181.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.18.

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 21.61% and a net margin of 16.73%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

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.