Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 8,694 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. $HLI

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 15.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,694 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.09% of Houlihan Lokey worth $13,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,305,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,260,000 after purchasing an additional 13,750 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 3.0% during the second quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,225,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,613,000 after buying an additional 36,144 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the third quarter valued at about $230,335,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 4.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,041,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $187,506,000 after acquiring an additional 41,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 2.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,041,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $187,462,000 after acquiring an additional 21,132 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HLI shares. Weiss Ratings raised Houlihan Lokey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $216.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $218.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Houlihan Lokey presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other Houlihan Lokey news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.17, for a total transaction of $87,085.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert A. Schriesheim sold 5,000 shares of Houlihan Lokey stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.86, for a total value of $854,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,781,004.52. This trade represents a 15.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 22.83% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 3.8%

Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $151.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of 23.24 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $173.75 and its 200 day moving average is $184.03. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.99 and a 12-month high of $211.78.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.09. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 24.46% and a net margin of 16.91%.During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. Houlihan Lokey’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is 36.87%.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile

Houlihan Lokey, Inc is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded in 1972 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company specializes in advisory services across a broad range of transaction types and financial matters. Since its founding, Houlihan Lokey has grown to serve corporations, financial sponsors, and government entities worldwide, providing expertise in complex and high-stakes engagements.

The firm’s core service offerings include mergers and acquisitions advisory, capital markets advisory, financial restructuring and distressed M&A, and valuation and fairness opinions.