AlphaQuest LLC Sells 15,418 Shares of StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

AlphaQuest LLC trimmed its stake in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 83.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,032 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,418 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in StepStone Group were worth $198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of STEP. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 967,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,207,000 after buying an additional 25,559 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in StepStone Group by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 523,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,222,000 after buying an additional 138,857 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its holdings in StepStone Group by 12.7% during the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 14,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 10.8% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 36,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,007,000 after acquiring an additional 3,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 3.1% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 14,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $825,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. 55.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

StepStone Group Stock Down 4.6%

NASDAQ STEP opened at $59.30 on Thursday. StepStone Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.07 and a 52 week high of $77.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.54 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $67.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.06.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.92 million. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 30.66% and a positive return on equity of 31.44%. The business’s revenue was up 102.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is -16.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on STEP shares. Evercore ISI set a $73.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on StepStone Group from $105.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised StepStone Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.63.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

In related news, insider Michael I. Mccabe sold 74,214 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.14, for a total transaction of $4,908,513.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 122,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,082,903.26. This trade represents a 37.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $725,200.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 222,052 shares of company stock worth $14,713,290. Company insiders own 16.47% 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.