Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 37,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,961,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.05% of Houlihan Lokey at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Houlihan Lokey by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,104,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $654,300,000 after purchasing an additional 29,843 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 27.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 30,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,927,000 after buying an additional 6,535 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,844,000. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter valued at approximately $495,000. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Houlihan Lokey during the second quarter worth approximately $619,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.07% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE HLI opened at $186.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.15 and a beta of 0.65. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.92 and a twelve month high of $190.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.61.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $574.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.93 million. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 15.77%. The business’s revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Houlihan Lokey

In other news, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total transaction of $155,290.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Chairman Scott L. Beiser sold 8,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.89, for a total transaction of $1,263,269.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Christopher M. Crain sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.29, for a total value of $155,290.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,917 shares of company stock worth $1,513,129. 23.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. lowered their price target on Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $149.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $154.00 price target (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.00.

Houlihan Lokey Profile

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.