D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 49.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,483 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $2,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HLI. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter worth $53,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 24.8% in 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 during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLI opened at $177.18 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $171.98. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a one year low of $127.14 and a one year high of $192.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.81 and a beta of 0.82.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.35. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The business had revenue of $666.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $628.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a boost from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.71, for a total transaction of $1,431,109.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 23.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $185.00.

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.