Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,235,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 21.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 36,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,818,000 after purchasing an additional 6,483 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,296 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599 shares in the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at about $335,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 201,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,351,000 after purchasing an additional 21,305 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:HLI traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $172.96. The stock had a trading volume of 258,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 352,988. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.14 and a 12-month high of $192.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.01 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.90.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $666.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $628.25 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 16.00%. Houlihan Lokey's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, 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 value of $1,431,109.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 23.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.