GAMMA Investing LLC Raises Holdings in StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP - Free Report) by 7,134.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,057 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 60,213 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.05% of StepStone Group worth $3,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,712 shares of the company's stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in StepStone Group by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 35,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,080,000 after acquiring an additional 2,599 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 30,600 shares of the company's stock worth $1,771,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Vicus Capital bought a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the 4th quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 15,973 shares of the company's stock valued at $925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

STEP traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $56.38. 541,228 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 681,198. StepStone Group LP has a one year low of $40.07 and a one year high of $70.38. The company's fifty day moving average price is $53.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.25. The company has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.36 and a beta of 1.40.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $295.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.87 million. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 12.04% and a negative net margin of 11.29%. StepStone Group's quarterly revenue was up 66.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that StepStone Group LP will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. StepStone Group's payout ratio is currently -40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason P. Ment sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $54,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,385,780. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 27,697 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.06, for a total transaction of $1,663,481.82. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 80,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,804,800. The trade was a 25.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 338,426 shares of company stock worth $20,325,626. 18.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STEP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays set a $62.00 target price on StepStone Group and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer set a $67.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $66.00 to $51.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.57.

StepStone Group Profile

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.