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

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) insider Michael Mccabe bought 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $41.85 per share, with a total value of $5,022,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 433,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,128,499.30. This represents a 38.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

StepStone Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of STEP stock opened at $42.52 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.68. StepStone Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.58 and a fifty-two week high of $77.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.25 and a beta of 1.29.

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

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

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -16.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered StepStone Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group assumed coverage on StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on StepStone Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays increased their price target on StepStone Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.88.

Institutional Trading of StepStone Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Essential Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 17,350.0% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 53.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 414,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,791,000 after purchasing an additional 144,752 shares in the last quarter. Bull Harbor Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of StepStone Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $468,000. Smith Group Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 51.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 17,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $838,000 after purchasing an additional 5,979 shares in 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.