Millennium Management LLC Sells 502,952 Shares of StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Millennium Management LLC cut its position in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,894,974 shares of the company’s stock after selling 502,952 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 3.29% of StepStone Group worth $254,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Granahan Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group during the third quarter worth approximately $6,792,000. Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 325.8% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 598,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,074,000 after acquiring an additional 457,775 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,217,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,538,000 after acquiring an additional 37,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 320.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 749,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,972,000 after acquiring an additional 571,643 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at StepStone Group

In other news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total transaction of $725,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ STEP opened at $44.90 on Tuesday. StepStone Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.07 and a 52 week high of $77.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.09 and its 200 day moving average is $62.19. The company has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.47 and a beta of 1.39.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $241.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.92 million. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 30.66% and a positive return on equity of 31.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 102.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

StepStone Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is -16.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on STEP shares. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $105.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of StepStone Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on StepStone Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.86.

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.