Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Invests $21.61 Million in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 124,456 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $21,613,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.18% of Houlihan Lokey at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the third quarter worth about $38,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 81.5% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the third quarter valued at about $76,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $92,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 69.1% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 678 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Performance

Houlihan Lokey stock traded up $1.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $181.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 326,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 321,812. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.67 and a fifty-two week high of $192.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.59 billion, a PE ratio of 37.06 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $179.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.84.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.15. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. Houlihan Lokey's revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on HLI. 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, October 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $170.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $180.00 to $178.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $171.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $173.40.

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.