R Squared Ltd Acquires New Stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HLI. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 24,178 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 73.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,537,000 after buying an additional 4,844 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 9.8% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 14,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,969,000 after buying an additional 1,299 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 10.7% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Houlihan Lokey by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,556 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,177,000 after acquiring an additional 3,824 shares during the last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock traded up $1.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $181.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 460,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,666. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.28 and a 52-week high of $192.10. The firm's 50-day moving average is $178.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.17. The company has a market cap of $12.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.72 and a beta of 0.69.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.59%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.84 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Houlihan Lokey's payout ratio is presently 43.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $192.00 target price (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $194.40.

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.