Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stake in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI - Free Report) by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,348 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $5,435,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HLI. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the 1st quarter valued at $2,844,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the 1st quarter worth about $306,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 45,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in Houlihan Lokey during the 1st quarter valued at about $690,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 624.8% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 6,267 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total transaction of $1,263,269.13. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Gillian Beth Zucker sold 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.49, for a total transaction of $30,498.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,001 shares in the company, valued at $1,067,582.49. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total value of $1,263,269.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,917 shares of company stock worth $1,513,129. 23.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of HLI stock traded up $2.97 on Friday, hitting $186.57. The stock had a trading volume of 84,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 322,814. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a one year low of $100.92 and a one year high of $189.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $162.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.08. The company has a market cap of $12.97 billion, a PE ratio of 37.55 and a beta of 0.65.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.15. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 19.29%. The business had revenue of $574.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Houlihan Lokey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $149.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $154.00 price target (up from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $146.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $157.00.

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.