Capital World Investors Has $196.16 Million Position in StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,056,795 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 94,819 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors’ holdings in StepStone Group were worth $196,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STEP. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 670,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,006,000 after purchasing an additional 46,273 shares in the last quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 176.5% in the 3rd quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 381,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,913,000 after purchasing an additional 243,495 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of StepStone Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,859,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 1,598.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 203,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,315,000 after purchasing an additional 191,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 281,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,409,000 after purchasing an additional 56,901 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on STEP shares. Barclays raised their target price on StepStone Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded StepStone Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on StepStone Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.88.

StepStone Group Stock Down 3.7%

NASDAQ STEP opened at $43.26 on Tuesday. StepStone Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.58 and a twelve month high of $77.79. The company has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.36 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.04 and its 200 day moving average is $57.05.

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

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a 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 declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at StepStone Group

In related news, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total transaction of $4,860,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 102,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,971,294. This trade represents a 49.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 16.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.