NBC Securities Inc. Raises Stock Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 125,366.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,764 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,761 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc.'s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HLI. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 36,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,818,000 after acquiring an additional 6,483 shares during the last quarter. Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter worth $208,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 65,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,315,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter worth $413,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the business'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 value of $86,510.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the business'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 own 23.68% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

HLI stock traded up $2.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $176.99. The company had a trading volume of 278,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,402. The firm has a market cap of $12.35 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78 and a beta of 0.83. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.14 and a 12 month high of $192.10. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $164.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.04.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $666.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $628.25 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on HLI. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $190.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Houlihan Lokey currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.00.

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.