Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Shares Bought by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 1,447.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,617 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $3,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in Houlihan Lokey in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 81.5% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the third quarter worth about $76,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the third quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 857 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HLI has been the subject of a number of research reports. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $192.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $194.40.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of HLI traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $180.24. 217,395 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 432,412. The stock's 50-day moving average is $178.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.81. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $121.81 and a 12 month high of $192.10. The stock has a market cap of $12.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.40 and a beta of 0.69.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 16.00%. Research analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.51%.

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.