Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 9,004 Shares of StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 46.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,389 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,004 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in StepStone Group were worth $679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of StepStone Group in the second quarter worth $46,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in StepStone Group by 35.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in StepStone Group by 332.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in StepStone Group by 88.2% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in StepStone Group by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $661,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $661,700. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 70,404 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.41, for a total transaction of $4,323,509.64. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 140,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,646,896.46. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 362,858 shares of company stock valued at $23,341,044. Insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of STEP stock opened at $75.39 on Friday. StepStone Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.07 and a 12-month high of $77.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.42 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $66.14 and its 200 day moving average is $63.39.

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

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on STEP. Zacks Research upgraded shares of StepStone Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on StepStone Group from $73.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, StepStone Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.86.

StepStone Group 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.