TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 353,697 StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 353,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,697,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in StepStone Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 967,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,207,000 after purchasing an additional 25,559 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 49.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 487,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,836,000 after buying an additional 160,318 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the third quarter worth about $50,859,000. Granahan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 176.5% in the third quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 381,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,913,000 after buying an additional 243,495 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 1,598.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 203,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,315,000 after buying an additional 191,873 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group Trading Down 2.1%

STEP opened at $52.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.57 and a beta of 1.34. StepStone Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.58 and a 12 month high of $77.79. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $50.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.27.

StepStone Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research downgraded StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on StepStone Group from $104.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded StepStone Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.75.

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.