Rhumbline Advisers Buys 15,453 Shares of StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 197,029 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,453 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.17% of StepStone Group worth $12,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of STEP. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in 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 third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in StepStone Group by 332.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in StepStone Group by 88.2% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in StepStone Group by 368.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,748 shares in the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael I. Mccabe sold 74,214 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.14, for a total value of $4,908,513.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 122,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,082,903.26. This trade represents a 37.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total transaction of $725,200.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 222,052 shares of company stock worth $14,713,290 over the last 90 days. 16.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of STEP opened at $53.80 on Friday. StepStone Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.07 and a 1 year high of $77.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $66.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.88. The firm has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a PE ratio of -7.75 and a beta of 1.32.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $241.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 102.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is -16.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on STEP shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price target on StepStone Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded StepStone Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on StepStone Group from $105.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays set a $67.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.57.

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.