First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 68,753 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 17.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 464,099 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 68,753 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.67% of Houlihan Lokey worth $80,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 36,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,818,000 after buying an additional 6,483 shares during the last quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth $5,133,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 80.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $979,000 after buying an additional 2,521 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter valued at $21,613,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,296 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,614,000 after buying an additional 1,599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $179.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $190.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $183.40.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:HLI traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $159.19. 156,904 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 349,867. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $126.30 and a 12 month high of $192.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $159.65 and a 200 day moving average of $171.80. The stock has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a PE ratio of 30.38 and a beta of 0.84.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.51%.

Houlihan Lokey Company 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.