Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Boosts Stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 20.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,882 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,486 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $5,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted 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 worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $185.00.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of HLI traded down $2.27 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $178.54. 105,135 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 350,501. The company's 50-day moving average price is $160.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.89. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.14 and a 52-week high of $192.10. The company has a market cap of $12.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.09 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Houlihan Lokey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is currently 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.