United Services Automobile Association Purchases New Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Key Points

• The United Services Automobile Association acquired 3,438 shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. valued at approximately $544,000 in the first quarter.
• Recent analyst reports have resulted in mixed ratings for Houlihan Lokey, with Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley increasing their target prices, while Wall Street Zen downgraded its rating.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.2%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 2nd.

United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $544,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 39,574.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 686,375 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,108,500,000 after purchasing an additional 684,645 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth $81,420,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth $46,236,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1,946.8% during the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 275,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,486,000 after acquiring an additional 262,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 1,168.0% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 239,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,683,000 after buying an additional 220,632 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, Chairman Paul Eric Siegert sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total transaction of $7,998,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.81, for a total transaction of $914,050.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,500 shares of company stock worth $9,010,160 over the last three months. Company insiders own 22.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on HLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $185.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $185.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $192.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $210.60.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

HLI stock traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $204.83. 47,862 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 402,806. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.40 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48 and a beta of 0.86. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.99 and a 52 week high of $208.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $194.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.41.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.45. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.46% and a return on equity of 23.75%. The firm had revenue of $605.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $573.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.40%.

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.