Jose Fernandez Sells 2,290 Shares of StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Stock

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) COO Jose Fernandez sold 2,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.64, for a total transaction of $97,645.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STEP opened at $46.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.82 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.28. StepStone Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.58 and a 52-week high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $305.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.11 million. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 26.88% and a positive return on equity of 37.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Analysts predict that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -16.47%.

StepStone Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STEP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price 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. Zacks Research cut shares of StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.88.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 1.2% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 16,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 414 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 1.2% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 18,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $870,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

About StepStone Group

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.