Michael Mccabe Purchases 120,000 Shares of StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Stock

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) insider Michael Mccabe purchased 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $18,128,499.30. This trade represents a 38.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ STEP opened at $44.39 on Friday. StepStone Group Inc. has a one year low of $40.58 and a one year high of $77.79. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $50.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.53 and a beta of 1.29.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.06. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 26.88% and a positive return on equity of 37.69%. The firm had revenue of $305.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. StepStone Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -16.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group 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 report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, StepStone Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STEP. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in StepStone Group by 72.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 3,843 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 6.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 6.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,068,000 after buying an additional 2,238 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 21.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 357,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,661,000 after buying an additional 63,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of StepStone Group in the first quarter worth $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

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.