Janus Henderson Group PLC Raises Stock Holdings in StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP - Free Report) by 23.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 29,998 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC's holdings in StepStone Group were worth $1,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in STEP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,599,875 shares of the company's stock worth $324,122,000 after purchasing an additional 895,521 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in StepStone Group in the fourth quarter valued at $46,163,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in StepStone Group in the fourth quarter valued at $32,340,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in StepStone Group by 353.2% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 661,799 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,305,000 after acquiring an additional 515,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in StepStone Group by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,938,181 shares of the company's stock valued at $401,582,000 after acquiring an additional 411,133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.54% of the company's stock.

StepStone Group Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of STEP stock traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.30. 1,123,175 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 679,502. StepStone Group LP has a 12 month low of $40.07 and a 12 month high of $70.38. The company has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.09 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50-day moving average price is $52.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.82.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 11.29% and a positive return on equity of 12.04%. The firm had revenue of $295.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $231.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 66.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that StepStone Group LP will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. StepStone Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -40.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on STEP shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Oppenheimer set a $67.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, StepStone Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason P. Ment sold 800 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total value of $48,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 90,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,441,593.26. The trade was a 0.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 900 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total value of $54,009.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,547,091. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.44% of the company's stock.

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.