Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 95.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 332,328 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 162,467 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in StepStone Group were worth $15,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in StepStone Group by 105.0% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 414 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 155.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of STEP stock opened at $43.00 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.67 and a 200 day moving average of $51.53. 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 $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.32 and a beta of 1.31.

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

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is presently -16.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on STEP. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays cut their target price on StepStone Group from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. They set 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.00.

Insider Transactions at StepStone Group

In related news, insider Michael I. Mccabe purchased 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $41.85 per share, with a total value of $5,022,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 433,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,128,499.30. This represents a 38.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 2,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.64, for a total transaction of $97,645.60. 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.

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.