Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 12,328 Shares of StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 360,253 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,328 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in StepStone Group were worth $17,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 46,273 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 258,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,585,000 after purchasing an additional 51,125 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of StepStone Group by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,456,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,951,000 after purchasing an additional 561,176 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of StepStone Group by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,776,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,028,000 after purchasing an additional 52,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of StepStone Group by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,056,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,155,000 after purchasing an additional 94,819 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at StepStone Group

In other news, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe bought 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $41.85 per share, for a total transaction of $5,022,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly 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. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 16.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:STEP opened at $41.11 on Thursday. StepStone Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $77.79. The firm has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of -6.05 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $45.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.45.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last issued its 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 negative net margin of 26.88% and a positive return on equity of 37.69%. The company had revenue of $305.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -16.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group started coverage on StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.00.

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.