Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC Acquires New Position in StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 104,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,792,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 2,285.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 127.8% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of StepStone Group during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 35.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 332.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on STEP shares. Evercore set a $73.00 target price on StepStone Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of StepStone Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, StepStone Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.86.

Insider Transactions at StepStone Group

In related news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total transaction of $725,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 16.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

StepStone Group Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of STEP stock opened at $45.09 on Monday. StepStone Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.07 and a twelve month high of $77.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.50 and a beta of 1.39.

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

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -16.14%.

StepStone Group declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.