StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) COO Jose Fernandez Sells 100,000 Shares of Stock

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) COO Jose Fernandez sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $4,860,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 102,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,971,294. This trade represents a 49.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

StepStone Group Trading Down 5.3%

Shares of StepStone Group stock opened at $43.63 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.40. StepStone Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.58 and a 12-month high of $77.79. The company has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.42 and a beta of 1.29.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $305.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

StepStone Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is currently -16.47%.

Institutional Trading of StepStone Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 2,285.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 155.7% during the 3rd 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 raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 58.6% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 127.8% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STEP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut StepStone Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays upped their price target on StepStone Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, StepStone Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.88.

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.