Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Buys Shares of 96,185 StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 96,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,590,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other StepStone Group news, insider Michael I. Mccabe acquired 120,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $41.85 per share, with a total value of $5,022,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 433,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,128,499.30. The trade was a 38.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total transaction of $4,860,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 102,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,971,294. The trade was a 49.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on STEP shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on StepStone Group from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, StepStone Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.00.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STEP opened at $43.00 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $44.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of -6.32 and a beta of 1.31. StepStone Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.85 and a 12 month high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.06. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 37.69% and a negative net margin of 26.88%.The business had revenue of $305.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -16.47%.

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.