Sei Investments Co. Buys 27,788 Shares of StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 50.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,219 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,788 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in StepStone Group were worth $3,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in STEP. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in StepStone Group by 65.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,723,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,774,000 after purchasing an additional 2,257,880 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of StepStone Group by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,449,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,229,000 after purchasing an additional 728,410 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of StepStone Group by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,102,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,439,000 after purchasing an additional 724,201 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of StepStone Group by 320.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 749,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,972,000 after purchasing an additional 571,643 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,456,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,951,000 after buying an additional 561,176 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:STEP opened at $50.33 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $43.98 and a 200-day moving average of $50.39. StepStone Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.85 and a 52 week high of $77.79. The company has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.40 and a beta of 1.27.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.02). StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 26.88% and a positive return on equity of 37.69%. The company had revenue of $300.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.32 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -16.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays cut their price objective on StepStone Group from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on StepStone Group from $72.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, StepStone Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.00.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

In other news, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 2,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe bought 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $41.85 per share, with a total value of $5,022,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 433,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,128,499.30. The trade was a 38.32% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group 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.