Whittier Trust Co. Buys 1,496 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,496 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. owned approximately 0.10% of Houlihan Lokey worth $10,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 111.1% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter worth about $54,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 744.2% in the first 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 in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 17.5% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 550 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,000. 78.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

NYSE HLI traded down $1.34 on Friday, reaching $196.09. 287,484 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 360,690. 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 $179.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.53. The stock has a market cap of $13.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.69 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 firm 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. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total value of $914,050.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was 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 13,508 shares of company stock worth $2,431,670 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 23.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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