William Blair Investment Management LLC Invests $9.53 Million in Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HURN)

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Huron Consulting Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HURN) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 96,779 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,533,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Huron Consulting Group by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,073,879 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $200,378,000 after acquiring an additional 25,905 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Huron Consulting Group by 36.6% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 922,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $88,994,000 after purchasing an additional 247,218 shares in the last quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA increased its holdings in shares of Huron Consulting Group by 5.6% in the second quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 222,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,929,000 after purchasing an additional 11,902 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Huron Consulting Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 181,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,911,000 after buying an additional 1,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Huron Consulting Group during the fourth quarter worth $14,460,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C. Mark Hussey sold 34,013 shares of Huron Consulting Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.69, for a total value of $3,424,768.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 85,081 shares in the company, valued at $8,566,805.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director H Eugene Lockhart sold 1,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.61, for a total value of $106,919.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,173,111.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C. Mark Hussey sold 34,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.69, for a total transaction of $3,424,768.97. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,566,805.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 44,439 shares of company stock worth $4,512,214. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Huron Consulting Group Price Performance

Shares of HURN opened at $107.15 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Huron Consulting Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $84.26 and a fifty-two week high of $115.65. The company has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.96 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $106.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.99.

Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.20. Huron Consulting Group had a return on equity of 20.44% and a net margin of 5.46%. The business had revenue of $371.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Huron Consulting Group Inc. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price target on shares of Huron Consulting Group in a report on Monday, September 9th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Huron Consulting Group in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Huron Consulting Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 3rd. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Huron Consulting Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huron Consulting Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.75.

Huron Consulting Group Company Profile

Huron Consulting Group Inc, a professional services firm, provides consultancy services in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Healthcare, Education, and Commercial. The Healthcare segment provides financial and operational performance improvement consulting services; digital offerings, spanning technology and analytic-related services; software products; organizational transformation services; revenue cycle managed and outsourcing services; financial and capital advisory consulting services; and strategy and innovation consulting services to national and regional health systems, academic and community health systems, federal health system, public, children’s and critical access hospitals, physician practices and medical groups, payors, and long-term care or post-acute providers.