Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Invests $204,000 in Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 1,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HLI. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 21,106 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey during the fourth quarter worth about $143,559,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 23.6% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 693,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,525,000 after purchasing an additional 132,516 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.3% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 78.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey Price Performance

NYSE:HLI opened at $159.02 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $174.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.77. The company has a market capitalization of $11.15 billion, a PE ratio of 30.35 and a beta of 0.72. Houlihan Lokey, Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.81 and a 1-year high of $192.10.

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

Houlihan Lokey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Houlihan Lokey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on HLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Houlihan Lokey in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $201.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $172.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.00.

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.