Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases New Position in StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in StepStone Group in the first quarter, buying 32,700 shares worth about $1.56 million.
• StepStone Group reported quarterly earnings of $0.57 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 3.4% year over year to $305.84 million.
• The company has been active on capital returns and insider activity, including a $100 million share buyback and a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $71.88.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 32,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,560,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in STEP. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 1,314.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 402,245 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,195,000 after purchasing an additional 373,807 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in StepStone Group by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 258,448 shares of the company's stock worth $16,585,000 after buying an additional 51,125 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in StepStone Group by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in StepStone Group during the fourth quarter valued at $136,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 14,318 shares of the company's stock valued at $919,000 after buying an additional 7,645 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company's stock.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

StepStone Group stock opened at $40.65 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $49.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.75. StepStone Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $77.79. The company has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a PE ratio of -5.98 and a beta of 1.31.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $292.11 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

StepStone Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. StepStone Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -16.47%.

Insider Activity

In other StepStone Group news, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.60, for a total value of $4,860,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 102,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,971,294. The trade was a 49.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe purchased 120,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $41.85 per share, for a total transaction of $5,022,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 433,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,128,499.30. This represents a 38.32% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 16.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of StepStone Group from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group assumed coverage on StepStone Group in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.88.

StepStone Group Company Profile

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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