Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 98,495 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,265,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 98,495 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Houlihan Lokey worth $914,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HLI. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter worth $143,559,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 341.0% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 307,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,366,000 after purchasing an additional 237,615 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter worth $24,177,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the 4th quarter worth $21,613,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1,823.3% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 95,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,550,000 after purchasing an additional 90,343 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of HLI stock opened at $157.98 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.49. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a one year low of $122.14 and a one year high of $192.10. The firm has a market cap of $11.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.15 and a beta of 0.72.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is 43.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HLI. StockNews.com downgraded Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $201.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $192.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.00.

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.