Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Shares Purchased by Bayforest Capital Ltd

Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 141.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,587 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HLI. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 111.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Motco purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 103.5% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 744.2% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:HLI traded down $0.92 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $189.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 356,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,984. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $183.03 and a 200-day moving average of $173.10. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.99 and a 52-week high of $198.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $605.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $573.07 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 23.75% and a net margin of 16.46%. The firm's revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.40%.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total transaction of $86,510.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total value of $914,050.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,508 shares of company stock valued at $2,431,670 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 23.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.40.

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.