StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Price Target Raised to $44.00

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) had its price target hoisted by UBS Group from $38.00 to $44.00 in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of StepStone Group from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $49.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an outperform rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $36.64.

StepStone Group Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:STEP opened at $45.67 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.36 and a 200 day moving average of $35.86. StepStone Group has a 52 week low of $23.24 and a 52 week high of $46.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.74 and a beta of 1.27.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $177.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $162.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that StepStone Group will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

StepStone Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Variable dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.33%.

Insider Transactions at StepStone Group

In other news, Director Steven R. Mitchell sold 27,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.34, for a total value of $1,219,350.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $406,110.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Steven R. Mitchell sold 27,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.34, for a total transaction of $1,219,350.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $406,110.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David F. Hoffmeister acquired 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $44.29 per share, for a total transaction of $996,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,030,829.37. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 19.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of StepStone Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STEP. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in StepStone Group by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,994,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,635,000 after purchasing an additional 627,059 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 150.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 850,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,396,000 after acquiring an additional 510,283 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 2,823,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,175,000 after acquiring an additional 289,383 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 628,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,006,000 after acquiring an additional 136,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 634,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,207,000 after acquiring an additional 116,439 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About StepStone Group

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