StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) Raises Dividend to $0.33 Per Share

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 6th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of 0.33 per share on Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This is a 17.9% increase from StepStone Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28.

StepStone Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.8%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 3 consecutive years. StepStone Group has a payout ratio of 48.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect StepStone Group to earn $3.49 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.1%.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of STEP traded down $2.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $47.48. 3,350,565 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,278,079. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.97 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.39. StepStone Group has a twelve month low of $38.85 and a twelve month high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $300.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.32 million. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 37.69% and a negative net margin of 26.88%. On average, equities research analysts expect that StepStone Group will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at StepStone Group

In other news, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 102,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,294. The trade was a 49.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe bought 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $41.85 per share, for a total transaction of $5,022,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 433,178 shares in the company, valued at $18,128,499.30. The trade was a 38.32% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 15.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StepStone Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of STEP. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 16,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of StepStone Group by 58.6% in 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. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 18,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $870,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in StepStone Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.