SG Americas Securities LLC Buys Shares of 28,438 StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 28,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,825,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 35.5% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in StepStone Group by 7.5% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 155.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other StepStone Group news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total transaction of $725,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

STEP opened at $47.05 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of -6.78 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $52.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.77. StepStone Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.07 and a twelve month high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 102.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is -16.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on STEP shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of StepStone Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $70.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Evercore set a $73.00 price target on StepStone Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, StepStone Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.50.

StepStone Group 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.