Baird Financial Group Inc. Purchases 48,326 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. significantly increased its shareholding in Houlihan Lokey by 1,537.6%, acquiring an additional 48,326 shares, bringing their total ownership to 51,469 shares valued at approximately $8.3 million.
• Analysts have recently raised their price targets for Houlihan Lokey, with Wells Fargo increasing its target from $185 to $209, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods set a new target of $232, indicating a generally positive outlook on the stock.
• Houlihan Lokey reported a 17.8% year-over-year revenue growth in its latest earnings, achieving $605.35 million, alongside an EPS of $2.14 that surpassed analysts' expectations by $0.45.

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 1,537.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 48,326 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.07% of Houlihan Lokey worth $8,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 111.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 550 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 10,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,720,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.40.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $191.56 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $192.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25 and a beta of 0.86. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.99 and a 52 week high of $201.63.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.45. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.46% and a return on equity of 23.75%. The business had revenue of $605.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $573.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.40%.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.22, for a total transaction of $98,110.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Paul Eric Siegert sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total transaction of $7,998,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,500 shares of company stock worth $9,010,160 in the last three months. Insiders own 22.83% of the company's stock.

About Houlihan Lokey

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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