Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ:HLNE) Trading Up 5% After Insider Buying Activity

Hamilton Lane Inc. (NASDAQ:HLNE) shares were up 5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock traded as high as $86.34 and last traded at $86.12. Approximately 97,254 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 807,468 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.99.

Specifically, COO Andrea Anigati Kramer purchased 1,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $77.46 per share, with a total value of $99,381.18. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 87,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,766,131. This represents a 1.49% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Hartley R. Rogers purchased 38,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $78.49 per share, with a total value of $3,005,382.10. Following the purchase, the chairman owned 93,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,358,908.44. This trade represents a 69.03% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HLNE shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Hamilton Lane from $171.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Hamilton Lane from $159.00 to $141.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $148.00 target price on shares of Hamilton Lane and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Hamilton Lane from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hamilton Lane in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.00.

Hamilton Lane Stock Up 5.8%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $90.69 and a 200 day moving average of $112.82. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 1.15.

Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ:HLNE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.06. Hamilton Lane had a return on equity of 25.98% and a net margin of 32.83%.The business had revenue of $193.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Hamilton Lane Inc. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Hamilton Lane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase from Hamilton Lane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 18th. Hamilton Lane’s payout ratio is 36.55%.

Hamilton Lane announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 21st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hamilton Lane

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in Hamilton Lane by 15.8% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,751,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,109,000 after acquiring an additional 239,397 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Hamilton Lane by 7.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,534,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,880,000 after buying an additional 104,977 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hamilton Lane by 33.8% during the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,388,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,140,000 after buying an additional 350,437 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hamilton Lane by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,293,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,458,000 after buying an additional 18,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hamilton Lane by 1.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,103,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,725,000 after buying an additional 18,063 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.40% of the company’s stock.

Hamilton Lane Company Profile

Hamilton Lane is a global private markets investment management firm specializing in the full spectrum of private equity and credit strategies. The company partners with institutional investors and wealth managers to design, implement and manage customized portfolios in primary fund investing, secondary market transactions and direct co-investment opportunities. By combining investment selection, portfolio construction and ongoing monitoring, Hamilton Lane seeks to optimize risk-adjusted returns across diverse private markets exposures.

Founded in 1991, Hamilton Lane has developed a track record of investment and advisory services in private markets.