StepStone Group Inc. $STEP Shares Sold by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its holdings in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 36.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,960 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,045 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in StepStone Group were worth $1,716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 105.0% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 155.7% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in StepStone Group by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in StepStone Group during the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on STEP shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on StepStone Group from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group initiated 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on StepStone Group from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael I. Mccabe purchased 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $41.85 per share, with a total value of $5,022,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 433,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,128,499.30. This represents a 38.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 2,290 shares of the company’s 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 16.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

StepStone Group Price Performance

StepStone Group stock opened at $44.78 on Thursday. StepStone Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.85 and a 12-month high of $77.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $46.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.23. The company has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.59 and a beta of 1.31.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.06. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 37.69% and a negative net margin of 26.88%.The firm had revenue of $305.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. StepStone Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th 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 was Monday, June 15th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is -16.47%.

About StepStone Group

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.