CW Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• CW Advisors LLC has invested approximately $10.30 million in Houlihan Lokey, acquiring 63,750 shares during the first quarter, representing 0.09% of the company.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and GAMMA Investing LLC, have increased their holdings in Houlihan Lokey, indicating strong institutional interest with 78.07% of the stock owned by such entities.
• Houlihan Lokey's stock has seen a recent analyst upgrade to a "moderate buy" with an average target price of $206.40, reflecting positive sentiment about its performance.

CW Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 63,750 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,296,000. CW Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Houlihan Lokey at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 111.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Motco bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 103.5% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 232 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 3,714.3% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total transaction of $914,050.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were 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. 22.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded 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 report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.40.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

HLI traded down $0.65 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $199.78. 92,620 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 400,721. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.61 and a beta of 0.86. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $189.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.29. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.99 and a 1 year high of $201.25.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $605.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $573.07 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.46% and a return on equity of 23.75%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is 40.40%.

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.