Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 18,063 Shares of Hamilton Lane Inc. $HLNE

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group boosted its stake in Hamilton Lane by 1.7% in the first quarter, buying 18,063 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 1.1 million shares worth about $109.7 million.
• Hamilton Lane insiders have also been active buyers, including COO Andrea Anigati Kramer and Chairman Hartley R. Rogers, with 95,039 shares purchased by insiders over the last three months.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.49, beat estimates, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.60 per share, while also authorizing a $100 million share repurchase plan.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hamilton Lane Inc. (NASDAQ:HLNE - Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,103,913 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,063 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.98% of Hamilton Lane worth $109,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Hamilton Lane by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 415 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Hamilton Lane by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 9,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,303,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Hamilton Lane by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 899 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 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 period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Hamilton Lane by 0.3% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 37,346 shares of the company's stock worth $5,308,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. 97.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Andrea Anigati Kramer acquired 1,283 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $77.46 per share, for a total transaction of $99,381.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 87,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,766,131. The trade was a 1.49% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Hartley R. Rogers acquired 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $90.05 per share, with a total value of $4,952,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman owned 55,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,952,750. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought a total of 95,039 shares of company stock worth $8,100,739 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 22.21% of the company's stock.

Hamilton Lane Stock Performance

Hamilton Lane stock opened at $85.79 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $82.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.16. Hamilton Lane Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.88 and a fifty-two week high of $161.13.

Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ:HLNE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $193.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $203.05 million. Hamilton Lane had a return on equity of 25.98% and a net margin of 32.83%.Hamilton Lane's revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Hamilton Lane Inc. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Hamilton Lane announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hamilton Lane Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HLNE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Hamilton Lane from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Hamilton Lane from $159.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Hamilton Lane from $148.00 to $128.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Hamilton Lane from $179.00 to $176.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Hamilton Lane from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hamilton Lane presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.57.

Hamilton Lane 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HLNE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hamilton Lane Inc. (NASDAQ:HLNE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.