GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Stock Position in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 36.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 24,074.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 501,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,647,000 after purchasing an additional 499,535 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 87.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 347,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,503,000 after buying an additional 161,753 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,074,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $608,459,000 after buying an additional 143,560 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the 2nd quarter worth $10,141,000. Finally, American International Group Inc. raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 15,061.5% during the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 69,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,363,000 after acquiring an additional 69,283 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total transaction of $1,263,269.13. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total value of $155,290.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total value of $1,263,269.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,717 shares of company stock valued at $1,479,513 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 23.68% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

NYSE:HLI opened at $167.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.14 and a beta of 0.66. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.67 and a 1 year high of $167.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $141.24.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.22. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 18.80%. The business had revenue of $514.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $508.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. Houlihan Lokey’s quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.64 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $154.00 price objective (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.00.

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.