Rhumbline Advisers Grows Holdings in StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP)

Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 177,208 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,014 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.15% of StepStone Group worth $9,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in STEP. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Amundi lifted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 730 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 444.4% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 969 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

Shares of STEP traded down $2.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $53.86. 607,967 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 682,102. The company has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a PE ratio of -31.87 and a beta of 1.40. StepStone Group LP has a 52-week low of $40.07 and a 52-week high of $70.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.09.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $295.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $231.87 million. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 12.04% and a negative net margin of 11.29%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 66.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that StepStone Group LP will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. StepStone Group's payout ratio is presently -40.17%.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

In related news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total transaction of $54,009.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,547,091. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason P. Ment sold 55,608 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.71, for a total value of $3,375,961.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,155 shares in the company, valued at $2,073,550.05. The trade was a 61.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 338,426 shares of company stock worth $20,325,626. Company insiders own 18.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on STEP. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on StepStone Group from $66.00 to $51.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on StepStone Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer set a $67.00 price target on StepStone Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays set a $62.00 price target on StepStone Group and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, StepStone Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.57.

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.