Janus Henderson Group PLC Buys 1,917 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,667 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,917 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $4,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HLI. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,122,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total transaction of $1,431,109.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 23.68% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Houlihan Lokey stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $172.96. 258,016 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 352,988. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a one year low of $127.14 and a one year high of $192.10. The stock has a market cap of $12.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.01 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $162.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.90.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The company had revenue of $666.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $628.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict 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 will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. This is a positive change from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is 41.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HLI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $190.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.00.

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.