StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) CEO Scott Hart Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) CEO Scott Hart sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.70, for a total transaction of $617,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,234,000. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

StepStone Group Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:STEP opened at $62.62 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.34 and a 200-day moving average of $60.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.41 billion, a PE ratio of -7.83 and a beta of 1.36. StepStone Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.07 and a 52 week high of $68.40.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 21.53% and a negative net margin of 40.06%.The firm had revenue of $282.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its stake in StepStone Group by 2,285.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 501 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in StepStone Group by 155.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in StepStone Group by 127.8% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in StepStone Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in StepStone Group by 35.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on STEP shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research cut StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on StepStone Group from $73.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on StepStone Group in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on StepStone Group from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.29.

About StepStone Group

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