StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $42.52, but opened at $45.82. StepStone Group shares last traded at $44.1770, with a volume of 98,148 shares traded.

Specifically, insider Michael I. Mccabe acquired 120,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $41.85 per share, with a total value of $5,022,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 433,178 shares in the company, valued at $18,128,499.30. This trade represents a 38.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on StepStone Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.88.

StepStone Group Stock Up 4.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of -6.48 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.68.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 business earned $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is -16.47%.

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

Institutional Trading of StepStone Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STEP. Essential Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 17,350.0% in the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 53.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 414,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,791,000 after buying an additional 144,752 shares during the last quarter. Bull Harbor Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the 1st quarter valued at $468,000. Smith Group Asset Management LLC raised its stake in StepStone Group by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in StepStone Group by 51.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 17,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $838,000 after acquiring an additional 5,979 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.