Portside Wealth Group LLC Purchases 1,586 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 57.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,586 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HLI. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 52.1% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,372 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the first quarter valued at about $81,420,000. Impact Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth about $210,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 125,366.7% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,764 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 3,761 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Houlihan Lokey

In related news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.02, for a total value of $86,510.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. 23.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE HLI traded down $1.84 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $174.10. 352,497 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 351,097. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $127.14 and a fifty-two week high of $192.10. The firm has a market cap of $12.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $164.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.95.

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

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. 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. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $190.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.