StepStone Group Inc. $STEP Shares Sold by TD Asset Management Inc

TD Asset Management Inc trimmed its stake in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 31.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,104 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,680 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in StepStone Group were worth $2,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 14.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 35.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 127.8% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in StepStone Group by 1.8% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 22,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in StepStone Group by 9.7% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of STEP stock opened at $46.96 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.77 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $63.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.04. StepStone Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.07 and a 1-year high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $241.13 million for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 102.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently -16.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on STEP shares. Zacks Research lowered StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore set a $73.00 price target on StepStone Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on StepStone Group from $105.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $725,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe sold 117,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.20, for a total transaction of $7,800,875.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 306,026 shares in the company, valued at $20,258,921.20. The trade was a 27.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 212,052 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,290 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 16.47% 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.