GAMMA Investing LLC Has $300,000 Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 307 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HLI. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $201,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 204.3% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 7,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $944,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,968,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 20,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,725,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Up 0.8 %

HLI stock opened at $172.94 on Tuesday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1-year low of $112.17 and a 1-year high of $192.10. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $179.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.02 billion, a PE ratio of 35.37 and a beta of 0.69.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.93 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 19.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com cut Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered Houlihan Lokey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $157.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $171.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.08, for a total value of $33,616.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,109,496.08. This represents a 2.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 23.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.