Insider Buying: StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Insider Buys 120,000 Shares of Stock

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) insider Michael Mccabe bought 120,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $41.85 per share, for a total transaction of $5,022,000.00. Following the acquisition, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

StepStone Group Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:STEP traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $42.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,188,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,178,559. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.81. StepStone Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.58 and a 1 year high of $77.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.25 and a beta of 1.29.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $305.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.11 million. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 37.69% and a negative net margin of 26.88%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

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

StepStone Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, March 9th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in StepStone Group by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 414 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its stake in StepStone Group by 2,285.7% during the third quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC grew its stake in StepStone Group by 17,350.0% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in StepStone Group by 155.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STEP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Oppenheimer lowered their price target 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 reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of StepStone Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.88.

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.