Inspire Investing LLC Takes $879,000 Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC has acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey, purchasing 4,884 shares valued at approximately $879,000 in the 2nd quarter.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their holdings in Houlihan Lokey, with notable increases from Callan Family Office LLC (212.5%) and Fenimore Asset Management Inc (108.1%).
• Houlihan Lokey recently announced a $0.60 quarterly dividend, providing a reported annual yield of 1.3%, with a payout ratio of 40.40%.

Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $879,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 212.5% during the second quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 4,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 3,188 shares during the last quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 108.1% during the second quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 104,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,755,000 after purchasing an additional 54,151 shares during the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 12.4% during the second quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,557 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter worth $1,451,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 6,811 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.75, for a total transaction of $1,380,930.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Paul Eric Siegert sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total value of $7,998,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,311 shares of company stock valued at $9,477,040. Company insiders own 22.83% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

HLI stock opened at $187.98 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.65 and a beta of 0.87. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.99 and a 1 year high of $211.78. The stock's fifty day moving average is $198.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.01.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $605.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $573.07 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 23.75% and a net margin of 16.46%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HLI. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $192.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Zacks Research cut Houlihan Lokey from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday. They set a "hold" rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $213.29.

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.

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