AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 18,313 Shares of StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its stake in StepStone Group, acquiring an additional 18,313 shares for a total holding of 18,450 shares, valued at approximately $1,024,000.
• StepStone Group's recent earnings report showed a quarterly revenue rise of 95.4% year-over-year, though it fell short of analyst expectations for both earnings per share and revenue.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.24 to $0.28, representing an annualized yield of 1.8% with a negative payout ratio of -36.36%.

AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP - Free Report) by 13,367.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,450 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 18,313 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in StepStone Group were worth $1,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 38.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,169 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in StepStone Group by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in StepStone Group by 943.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares during the last quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in StepStone Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $212,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in StepStone Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $204,000. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

StepStone Group Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ STEP opened at $63.27 on Friday. StepStone Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.07 and a twelve month high of $70.38. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $63.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.45. The company has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a PE ratio of -20.54 and a beta of 1.37.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $237.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $238.99 million. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 16.07% and a negative net margin of 17.10%.StepStone Group's quarterly revenue was up 95.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from StepStone Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. StepStone Group's payout ratio is presently -36.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO David Y. Park sold 1,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.26, for a total value of $63,260.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,392,985.20. The trade was a 4.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $647,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,588,000. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,000 shares of company stock worth $1,324,660 in the last ninety days. 16.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STEP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Saturday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on StepStone Group from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays set a $70.00 price target on StepStone Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on StepStone Group from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.83.

About StepStone Group

StepStone Group Inc is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in direct, fund of funds, secondary direct, and secondary indirect investments. For direct investment, it seeks to invest in private debt, venture debt, incubation, mezzanine, distressed/vulture, seed/startup, early venture, mid venture, late venture, emerging growth, later stage, turnaround, growth capital, industry consolidation, recapitalization, buyout investments in mature and middle market companies.

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