Insider Buying: StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Insider Buys $5,022,000.00 in Stock

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) insider Michael Mccabe bought 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $41.85 per share, with a total value of $5,022,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 433,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,128,499.30. The trade was a 38.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

StepStone Group Stock Up 4.4%

Shares of NASDAQ STEP opened at $44.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.53 and a beta of 1.29. StepStone Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.58 and a 52-week high of $77.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $50.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.59.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $305.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.11 million. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 37.69% and a negative net margin of 26.88%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.57 EPS 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 given a $0.28 dividend. 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 2.5%. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is presently -16.47%.

StepStone Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 9th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on STEP. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on StepStone Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered StepStone Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group began coverage on StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Seven investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.88.

Institutional Trading of StepStone Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of StepStone Group by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 670,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,006,000 after acquiring an additional 46,273 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 176.5% in the third quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 381,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,913,000 after buying an additional 243,495 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in StepStone Group in the third quarter valued at $50,859,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 1,598.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 203,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,315,000 after buying an additional 191,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 25.3% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 281,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,409,000 after buying an additional 56,901 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

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.