StepStone Group Inc. (STEP) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.28 on December 15th

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be paid a dividend of 0.28 per share on Monday, December 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th.

StepStone Group has a payout ratio of 48.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect StepStone Group to earn $2.04 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.9%.

StepStone Group Stock Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:STEP opened at $62.58 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $63.29 and a 200-day moving average of $60.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.82 and a beta of 1.36. StepStone Group has a twelve month low of $40.07 and a twelve month high of $68.40.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 40.06% and a positive return on equity of 21.53%. The business had revenue of $282.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $272.15 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that StepStone Group will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

In other StepStone Group news, CFO David Y. Park sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.26, for a total value of $63,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,392,985.20. This trade represents a 4.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.34, for a total transaction of $643,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,930,200. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 161,806 shares of company stock valued at $10,063,214 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of StepStone Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in StepStone Group by 65.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,723,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,774,000 after acquiring an additional 2,257,880 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 269.8% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,962,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,748,000 after purchasing an additional 2,161,548 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,859,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in StepStone Group by 320.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 749,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,972,000 after buying an additional 571,643 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its position in StepStone Group by 401.0% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 604,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,481,000 after buying an additional 483,847 shares during the period. 55.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

StepStone Group Company Profile

StepStone Group Inc is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in direct, fund of funds, secondary direct, and secondary indirect investments. For direct investment, it seeks to invest in private debt, venture debt, incubation, mezzanine, distressed/vulture, seed/startup, early venture, mid venture, late venture, emerging growth, later stage, turnaround, growth capital, industry consolidation, recapitalization, buyout investments in mature and middle market companies.