Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Shares Acquired by Lecap Asset Management Ltd.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 70.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,337 shares during the quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $1,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,625 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 51.8% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,664 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $984,000 after buying an additional 1,934 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 486,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $84,566,000 after acquiring an additional 4,896 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $727,000. Finally, Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,696,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HLI. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $192.00 target price (up previously from $159.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 note on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $192.20.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HLI traded up $0.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $182.75. 874,232 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 354,015. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.48 and a 1 year high of $192.10. The company has a market cap of $12.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40 and a beta of 0.83. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $171.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.19.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $666.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $628.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

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

Houlihan Lokey Company 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.