Renaissance Technologies LLC Makes New $4.37 Million Investment in StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 91,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,366,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.08% of StepStone Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in StepStone Group by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,449,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,229,000 after acquiring an additional 728,410 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in StepStone Group by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,227,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,635,000 after purchasing an additional 504,680 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in StepStone Group by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,102,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,439,000 after purchasing an additional 724,201 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in StepStone Group by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,456,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,951,000 after purchasing an additional 561,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in StepStone Group by 2.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,138,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,317,000 after purchasing an additional 95,339 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on STEP shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on StepStone Group from $72.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on StepStone Group from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Seven 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.00.

StepStone Group Price Performance

STEP opened at $50.33 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.39. The firm has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.40 and a beta of 1.27. StepStone Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.85 and a 1 year high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.02). StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 26.88% and a positive return on equity of 37.69%. The company had revenue of $300.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $309.32 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -16.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at StepStone Group

In other StepStone Group news, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 2,290 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.64, for a total transaction of $97,645.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe purchased 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $41.85 per share, for a total transaction of $5,022,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 433,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,128,499.30. The trade was a 38.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 15.70% of the company’s stock.

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.