Norden Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Norden Group LLC raised its position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the quarter. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in Houlihan Lokey by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,615,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,276,000 after buying an additional 21,106 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 26,564 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 132,516 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 601,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,974,000 after purchasing an additional 149,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 486,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,566,000 after purchasing an additional 4,896 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 4.7 %

Shares of Houlihan Lokey stock opened at $161.14 on Wednesday. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 12 month low of $121.81 and a 12 month high of $192.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $176.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.76. The firm has a market cap of $11.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.75 and a beta of 0.72.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Houlihan Lokey from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.