StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) COO Sells $97,645.60 in Stock

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) COO Jose Fernandez sold 2,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.64, for a total transaction of $97,645.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

StepStone Group Stock Down 3.2%

NASDAQ STEP opened at $44.91 on Friday. StepStone Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.58 and a 52 week high of $77.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.60 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.20.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.06. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 26.88% and a positive return on equity of 37.69%. The firm had revenue of $305.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

StepStone Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently -16.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on STEP shares. Zacks Research downgraded StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, StepStone Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.88.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in StepStone Group by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 487,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,836,000 after purchasing an additional 160,318 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in StepStone Group by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 670,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,006,000 after purchasing an additional 46,273 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in StepStone Group by 176.5% in the 3rd quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 381,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,913,000 after purchasing an additional 243,495 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of StepStone Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,859,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 1,598.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 203,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,315,000 after acquiring an additional 191,873 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

StepStone Group Company Profile

StepStone Group is a global private markets investment firm that provides specialized investment solutions across private equity, private credit and real assets. The firm offers customized portfolios, secondary interests, direct co-investments and tailored advisory services to institutional investors worldwide. StepStone’s integrated research and data analytics platform supports its investment teams in sourcing opportunities and monitoring portfolio companies.

Founded in 2007 as an independent private markets specialist, the company has grown its presence through both organic expansion and strategic partnerships.