Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Has $159,000 Holdings in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP – Get Rating) by 223.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,476 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,474 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in StepStone Group were worth $159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versor Investments LP grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 6.2% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 10,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. Credit Suisse AG grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 1.9% in the second quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 38,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 2.8% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 38,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in StepStone Group in the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, American International Group Inc. grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 5.5% in the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 22,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares during the period. 93.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on STEP. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.80.

StepStone Group Price Performance

STEP opened at $28.58 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $28.37 and its 200 day moving average is $28.07. StepStone Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.39 and a fifty-two week high of $35.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -357.25 and a beta of 1.44.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27. The firm had revenue of $148.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 27th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,000.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas Keck sold 76,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.74, for a total transaction of $2,346,537.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 428,803 shares in the company, valued at $13,181,404.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Thomas Keck sold 76,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.74, for a total transaction of $2,346,537.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 428,803 shares in the company, valued at $13,181,404.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO David Y. Park sold 2,400 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.52, for a total transaction of $68,448.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $908,761.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 121,075 shares of company stock worth $3,687,457. Insiders own 20.01% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group Company Profile

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