StepStone Group Inc. $STEP Shares Purchased by Granahan Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Granahan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 45.7%, acquiring an additional 159,416 shares for a total of 508,151 shares, which represents approximately $26.5 million.
• The CEO, Scott W. Hart, and another insider, Michael I. Mccabe, recently sold shares of StepStone Group, with Hart decreasing his ownership by 16.67% after selling 10,000 shares.
• StepStone Group's quarterly dividend has been increased to $0.28, providing shareholders with a 1.8% yield, and the company recently reported a revenue increase of 95.4% year-over-year despite slightly missing EPS estimates.

Granahan Investment Management LLC grew its stake in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP - Free Report) by 45.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 508,151 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 159,416 shares during the period. StepStone Group makes up about 1.3% of Granahan Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Granahan Investment Management LLC owned about 0.44% of StepStone Group worth $26,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of StepStone Group in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of StepStone Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 38.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,169 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 14.0% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 943.5% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,847 shares of the company's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 1,670 shares during the period. 55.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at StepStone Group

In other StepStone Group news, insider Michael I. Mccabe sold 67,718 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.54, for a total transaction of $3,828,775.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 423,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,965,270.56. This trade represents a 13.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $614,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 50,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,072,000. The trade was a 16.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 97,718 shares of company stock valued at $5,658,876. 16.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

StepStone Group Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of StepStone Group stock traded down $0.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $60.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 435,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 586,658. The company has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.77 and a beta of 1.37. StepStone Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.07 and a 1-year high of $70.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.93.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $238.99 million. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 16.07% and a negative net margin of 17.10%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 95.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

StepStone Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from StepStone Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. StepStone Group's payout ratio is -36.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STEP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded StepStone Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on StepStone Group from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on StepStone Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (up from $81.00) on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on StepStone Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.00.

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.