Dorsey Wright & Associates Boosts Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Dorsey Wright & Associates increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 9.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,044 shares during the quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates' holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $3,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,265,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $914,420,000 after buying an additional 98,495 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,281,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $569,830,000 after purchasing an additional 208,851 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,875,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $325,651,000 after purchasing an additional 161,647 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,251,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $217,393,000 after purchasing an additional 20,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 122.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,041,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $180,815,000 after purchasing an additional 573,745 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $192.00 price target (up from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $232.00 in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.40.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

NYSE HLI traded down $1.36 on Friday, reaching $196.01. 393,857 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 395,889. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.99 and a 12 month high of $198.78. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.35. 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 results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $628.25 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.24%.

Houlihan Lokey Company 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.