Bamco Inc. NY Has $39.07 Million Position in StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Bamco Inc. NY raised its holdings in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 325.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 598,290 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 457,775 shares during the quarter. Bamco Inc. NY owned 0.51% of StepStone Group worth $39,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in STEP. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in StepStone Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 967,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,207,000 after acquiring an additional 25,559 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in StepStone Group by 49.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 487,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,836,000 after purchasing an additional 160,318 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in StepStone Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,859,000. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in StepStone Group by 36.1% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 523,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,222,000 after purchasing an additional 138,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 623,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,748,000 after purchasing an additional 88,794 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of STEP opened at $45.09 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.50 and a beta of 1.39. StepStone Group Inc. has a one year low of $40.07 and a one year high of $77.79. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.32.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $241.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.92 million. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 31.44% and a negative net margin of 30.66%.The business’s revenue was up 102.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -16.14%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays upgraded StepStone Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $67.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised StepStone Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $725,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 16.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.