GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 145.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,520 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter worth $54,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Houlihan Lokey by 744.2% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at $105,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 374.6% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 655 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total value of $86,510.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total value of $1,431,109.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 13,508 shares of company stock valued at $2,431,670. 23.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of HLI stock traded up $2.04 on Friday, hitting $185.51. The stock had a trading volume of 265,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 356,731. The business has a 50 day moving average of $174.61 and a 200 day moving average of $170.34. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.48 and a 12-month high of $192.10. The stock has a market cap of $12.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87 and a beta of 0.83.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $628.25 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HLI shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $192.00 price target (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $192.20.

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.