StepStone Group Inc. $STEP Shares Acquired by Engle Capital Management L.P.

Key Points

• Engle Capital Management increased its StepStone Group stake by 82.5% in the first quarter, reaching 237,216 shares valued at approximately $11.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 55.54% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with seven Buy ratings, two Holds and one Sell. The stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $69 price target, despite several recent target reductions.
• StepStone reported quarterly EPS of $0.57, exceeding the $0.51 consensus estimate, while revenue of $305.84 million also surpassed expectations. The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.28, representing a 2.5% annualized yield.

Engle Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP - Free Report) by 82.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 237,216 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 107,216 shares during the quarter. StepStone Group accounts for approximately 3.9% of Engle Capital Management L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Engle Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.20% of StepStone Group worth $11,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in StepStone Group by 65.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,723,073 shares of the company's stock worth $373,774,000 after buying an additional 2,257,880 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,449,878 shares of the company's stock valued at $542,229,000 after buying an additional 728,410 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,102,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $327,439,000 after buying an additional 724,201 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of StepStone Group by 320.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 749,841 shares of the company's stock worth $48,972,000 after acquiring an additional 571,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,456,150 shares of the company's stock worth $285,951,000 after acquiring an additional 561,176 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

In other news, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 49.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe purchased 120,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $41.85 per share, with a total value of $5,022,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 433,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,128,499.30. The trade was a 38.32% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 15.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STEP has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on StepStone Group from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on StepStone Group from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on StepStone Group from $72.00 to $63.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.00.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

StepStone Group stock opened at $44.65 on Tuesday. StepStone Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $77.79. The stock has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of -6.57 and a beta of 1.31. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $45.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.89.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $305.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.11 million. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 26.88% and a positive return on equity of 37.69%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that StepStone Group Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. StepStone Group's payout ratio is presently -16.47%.

About StepStone Group

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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