StepStone Group Inc. $STEP Shares Purchased by Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 258,448 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 51,125 shares during the quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. owned approximately 0.22% of StepStone Group worth $16,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of STEP. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of StepStone Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $136,000. XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in shares of StepStone Group by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 14,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 7,645 shares in the last quarter. VARCOV Co. acquired a new position in StepStone Group in the 4th quarter valued at $238,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in StepStone Group by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 370,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,758,000 after purchasing an additional 74,745 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

StepStone Group Stock Down 5.6%

Shares of STEP opened at $42.93 on Wednesday. StepStone Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.58 and a 52-week high of $77.79. The company has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of -6.31 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.74.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $305.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is -16.47%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays raised their price target 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. UBS Group started coverage on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of StepStone Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael I. Mccabe purchased 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $41.85 per share, for a total transaction of $5,022,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 433,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,128,499.30. This represents a 38.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total transaction of $4,860,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 102,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,294. The trade was a 49.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group 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.