Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC Takes $6.79 Million Position in StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 104,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,792,000. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC owned 0.09% of StepStone Group as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in StepStone Group by 2,285.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in StepStone Group by 127.8% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of StepStone Group during the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of StepStone Group by 35.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of StepStone Group by 332.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STEP opened at $45.09 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.32. StepStone Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.07 and a 1 year high of $77.79. The company has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.50 and a beta of 1.39.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $241.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.92 million. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 31.44% and a negative net margin of 30.66%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 102.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is -16.14%.

StepStone Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 9th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on StepStone Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on StepStone Group from $105.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of StepStone Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $67.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, StepStone Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total transaction of $725,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 16.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.