96,185 Shares in StepStone Group Inc. $STEP Purchased by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 96,185 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,590,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.08% of StepStone Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 16,895 shares of the company's stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 58.6% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 544 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 414 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 1.2% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 18,234 shares of the company's stock worth $870,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,899 shares of the company's stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.54% of the company's stock.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

StepStone Group stock opened at $43.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.32 and a beta of 1.31. StepStone Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $77.79. The stock's fifty day moving average is $44.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.53.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $305.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $292.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. StepStone Group's dividend payout ratio is currently -16.47%.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

In related news, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 2,290 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.64, for a total value of $97,645.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe bought 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $41.85 per share, for a total transaction of $5,022,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 433,178 shares in the company, valued at $18,128,499.30. The trade was a 38.32% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 15.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $72.00 to $63.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Seven equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.00.

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.

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