Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Has $2.35 Million Holdings in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 97 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Houlihan Lokey were worth $2,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HLI. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 194.9% during the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the first quarter worth approximately $74,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $85,000. 78.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Houlihan Lokey Stock Down 0.5 %

Houlihan Lokey stock traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $144.59. 353,759 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 334,159. The business has a fifty day moving average of $135.10 and a 200 day moving average of $129.05. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.67 and a 1-year high of $150.03. The company has a market capitalization of $9.92 billion, a PE ratio of 35.37 and a beta of 0.67.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.07. Houlihan Lokey had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm had revenue of $520.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $508.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Houlihan Lokey, Inc. will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Houlihan Lokey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is a positive change from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on HLI. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $131.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $132.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Houlihan Lokey from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David A. Preiser sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.21, for a total transaction of $2,664,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider David A. Preiser sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.21, for a total transaction of $2,664,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Irwin Gold sold 9,902 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total value of $1,339,245.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 25.97% of the company’s stock.

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.