Junto Capital Management LP Grows Holdings in StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Junto Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,078,672 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 222,950 shares during the quarter. Junto Capital Management LP owned 0.90% of StepStone Group worth $44,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in StepStone Group by 72.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 3,843 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 6.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 6.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in StepStone Group by 21.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 357,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,661,000 after purchasing an additional 63,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in StepStone Group in the first quarter worth approximately $209,000. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

Shares of StepStone Group stock opened at $49.94 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of -6.47 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.71. StepStone Group Inc. has a one year low of $38.85 and a one year high of $77.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.19.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.02). StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 43.38% and a negative net margin of 30.53%.The firm had revenue of $300.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $309.32 million. Research analysts expect that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This is an increase from StepStone Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently -17.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on STEP. Wall Street Zen downgraded StepStone Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Barclays increased their price target on StepStone Group from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Monday, July 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.56.

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.