Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ:HLNE) Stock Price Down 4.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Hamilton Lane Inc. (NASDAQ:HLNE) was down 4.7% during mid-day trading on Monday after Weiss Ratings downgraded the stock from a hold (c) rating to a hold (c-) rating. The stock traded as low as $82.52 and last traded at $81.8110. Approximately 43,053 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 830,801 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.85.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on HLNE. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Hamilton Lane from $141.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Hamilton Lane from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Hamilton Lane from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Hamilton Lane from $166.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Hamilton Lane from $148.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hamilton Lane news, COO Andrea Anigati Kramer purchased 1,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $77.46 per share, for a total transaction of $99,381.18. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 87,350 shares in the company, valued at $6,766,131. This represents a 1.49% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Hartley R. Rogers purchased 38,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $78.49 per share, with a total value of $3,005,382.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman owned 93,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,358,908.44. The trade was a 69.03% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought a total of 95,039 shares of company stock valued at $8,100,739 in the last three months. Insiders own 22.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hamilton Lane

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Hamilton Lane by 2,557.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 186 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Hamilton Lane during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hamilton Lane by 81.2% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hamilton Lane by 196.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 383 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hamilton Lane in the second quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.40% of the company’s stock.

Hamilton Lane Stock Down 0.4%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $82.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26 and a beta of 1.16.

Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ:HLNE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $193.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.05 million. Hamilton Lane had a net margin of 32.83% and a return on equity of 25.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Hamilton Lane Inc. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Hamilton Lane Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 18th. This is a boost from Hamilton Lane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Hamilton Lane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.61%.

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

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.