Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,776,677 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 52,713 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.50% of StepStone Group worth $114,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its stake in StepStone Group by 2,285.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 501 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in StepStone Group by 155.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in StepStone Group by 58.6% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 102,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,294. This represents a 49.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on STEP shares. Barclays raised 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. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of StepStone Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.88.

StepStone Group Price Performance

StepStone Group stock opened at $44.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.60 and a beta of 1.29. StepStone Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.58 and a 1 year high of $77.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $51.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.20.

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

StepStone Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently -16.47%.

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.