Argent Capital Management LLC Purchases 1,638 Shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 242,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,638 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $42,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HLI. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,273,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $441,507,000 after purchasing an additional 62,314 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,087,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $416,434,000 after purchasing an additional 38,155 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,615,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,276,000 after purchasing an additional 21,106 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 970,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $153,405,000 after purchasing an additional 26,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 776,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,697,000 after purchasing an additional 45,205 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of HLI opened at $175.09 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.81 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.41. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a twelve month low of $112.84 and a twelve month high of $192.10.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $574.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.93 million. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 19.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Houlihan Lokey’s payout ratio is currently 46.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $170.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $171.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $180.00 to $178.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.