Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $1.56 Million Position in StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 32,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,560,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in StepStone Group by 105.0% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position in shares of StepStone Group by 2,285.7% during the third quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 501 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of StepStone Group by 155.7% during the third 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. Fifth Third Bancorp increased 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 worth $35,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of StepStone Group during the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. 55.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on STEP. Oppenheimer decreased their price target 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of StepStone Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.88.

StepStone Group Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ STEP opened at $40.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.98 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $49.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.75. StepStone Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.85 and a twelve month high of $77.79.

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

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is currently -16.47%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $4,860,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 102,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,294. This represents a 49.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe bought 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $41.85 per share, with a total value of $5,022,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 433,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,128,499.30. This trade represents a 38.32% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

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.