17,007 Shares in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Purchased by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 17,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,953,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HLI. State Street Corp lifted its position in Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,615,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,276,000 after buying an additional 21,106 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 970,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $153,405,000 after acquiring an additional 26,564 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the 4th quarter worth about $143,559,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 693,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,525,000 after purchasing an additional 132,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Houlihan Lokey by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 602,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,931 shares during the period. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

Shares of HLI stock opened at $162.33 on Friday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.14 and a 1-year high of $192.10. The company has a market cap of $11.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.98 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $173.22 and its 200 day moving average is $172.01.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.13. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 20.04%. On average, analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is 43.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $179.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $201.00 to $190.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.00.

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.