Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys New Position in StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 91,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,366,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in StepStone Group by 105.0% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 414 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 155.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 58.6% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of StepStone Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of StepStone Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $73,000. 55.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on StepStone Group from $72.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on StepStone Group from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Monday, July 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 2,290 shares of the company’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 value of $97,645.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe purchased 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $41.85 per share, for a total transaction of $5,022,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider 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. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

STEP stock opened at $50.33 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.39. StepStone Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.85 and a 52-week high of $77.79. The firm 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 earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.02). StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 37.69% and a negative net margin of 26.88%.The company had revenue of $300.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.32 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given 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 -16.47%.

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.