StepStone Group Inc. $STEP Shares Purchased by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 1,598.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 203,873 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 191,873 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.18% of StepStone Group worth $13,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,721,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,289,000 after acquiring an additional 296,378 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in StepStone Group by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,043,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,422,000 after acquiring an additional 32,625 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in StepStone Group by 28.0% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,122,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,326,000 after buying an additional 245,546 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 1.5% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,111,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,668,000 after acquiring an additional 16,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 967,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,207,000 after purchasing an additional 25,559 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at StepStone Group

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

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of StepStone Group stock opened at $45.46 on Thursday. StepStone Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.07 and a 1-year high of $77.79. The company has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a PE ratio of -6.55 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.41 and a 200-day moving average of $62.57.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. StepStone Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 102.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is -16.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $105.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays upgraded StepStone Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $67.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research cut StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $73.00 target price on StepStone Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.86.

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.