StepStone Group Inc. $STEP Position Raised by SG Americas Securities LLC

Key Points

• Institutional investors boosted holdings in StepStone Group during the first quarter, led by SG Americas Securities LLC, which increased its position by 1,314.5% to 402,245 shares worth about $19.2 million. Several other firms, including Goldman Sachs and Royal Bank of Canada, also raised their stakes.
• Insider trading was mixed: Michael I. Mccabe bought 120,000 shares for about $5.0 million, while COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.
• StepStone posted better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $0.57 and revenue of $305.84 million, beating analyst estimates. The company also announced a $100 million share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share.

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP - Free Report) by 1,314.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 402,245 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 373,807 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.34% of StepStone Group worth $19,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in StepStone Group by 72.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 3,843 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in StepStone Group by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,904 shares of the company's stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 6.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 21.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 357,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,661,000 after purchasing an additional 63,519 shares during the period. Finally, United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of StepStone Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Institutional investors own 55.54% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

StepStone Group Trading Down 0.7%

StepStone Group stock opened at $40.91 on Friday. StepStone Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.58 and a 52 week high of $77.79. The stock has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.02 and a beta of 1.29. The company's 50-day moving average price is $50.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.43.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $305.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.11 million. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 26.88% and a positive return on equity of 37.69%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. Research analysts expect that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. StepStone Group's dividend payout ratio is -16.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on STEP. UBS Group initiated coverage on StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their target price on StepStone Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on StepStone Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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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