Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Increases Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 47.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,531 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,098 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $1,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HLI. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth about $54,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted 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 in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 17.5% during the first 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. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter worth about $105,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company'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 transaction of $86,510.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total transaction of $1,431,109.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,508 shares of company stock worth $2,431,670 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 23.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $192.00 price objective (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.40.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Houlihan Lokey stock traded down $1.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $196.01. 393,857 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 395,889. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day moving average of $181.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.35. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.99 and a 12 month high of $198.78.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $666.42 million for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is 41.24%.

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.