Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $15.86 Million Stock Holdings in StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 95.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 332,328 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 162,467 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.28% of StepStone Group worth $15,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of STEP. Delta Global Management LP acquired a new stake in StepStone Group in the first quarter valued at about $2,577,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in StepStone Group during the first quarter worth about $4,590,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the first quarter worth about $4,366,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 50.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 83,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,971,000 after acquiring an additional 27,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of StepStone Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,636,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at StepStone Group

In related news, insider Michael I. Mccabe purchased 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $41.85 per share, with a total value of $5,022,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 433,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,128,499.30. This represents a 38.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $4,860,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 102,290 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,294. The trade was a 49.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 15.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on STEP shares. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on StepStone Group from $72.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, StepStone Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.00.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of StepStone Group stock opened at $43.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.32 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.53. StepStone Group Inc. has a one year low of $38.85 and a one year high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $305.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.11 million. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 26.88% and a positive return on equity of 37.69%. The business’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -16.47%.

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.