StepStone Group Inc. $STEP Shares Purchased by Granahan Investment Management LLC

Granahan Investment Management LLC raised its stake in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 176.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 381,455 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 243,495 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in StepStone Group were worth $24,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,723,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,774,000 after acquiring an additional 2,257,880 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the 3rd quarter worth $50,859,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of StepStone Group by 320.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 749,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,972,000 after purchasing an additional 571,643 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of StepStone Group by 401.0% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 604,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,481,000 after purchasing an additional 483,847 shares during the period. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY lifted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 325.8% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 598,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,074,000 after purchasing an additional 457,775 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upgraded StepStone Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $67.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Evercore set a $73.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of StepStone Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.86.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

In related news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total transaction of $725,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group Trading Up 4.1%

NASDAQ:STEP opened at $45.09 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.50 and a beta of 1.39. StepStone Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.07 and a 1-year high of $77.79. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $60.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.32.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 31.44% and a negative net margin of 30.66%.The firm had revenue of $241.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 102.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is -16.14%.

StepStone Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, March 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About StepStone Group

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.