Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Purchases 5,486 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 20.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,882 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,486 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $5,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $185.00.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of HLI traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $180.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 329,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 352,039. The stock has a market cap of $12.68 billion, a PE ratio of 34.50 and a beta of 0.82. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.14 and a 52 week high of $192.10. The company's fifty day moving average price is $160.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.84.

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

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. This is a positive change from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is presently 41.24%.

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.