StepStone Group Inc. $STEP Stock Position Decreased by Truist Financial Corp

Key Points

• Truist Financial Corp decreased its position in StepStone Group Inc. by 35.1% in the second quarter, selling 6,660 shares and now holding a total of 12,332 shares worth approximately $684,000.
• StepStone Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, up from the previous $0.24, representing a 1.7% dividend yield.
• Research analysts have set varying price targets for StepStone Group, with BMO Capital Markets issuing an "outperform" rating and a price target of $74.00.

Truist Financial Corp cut its position in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP - Free Report) by 35.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,332 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,660 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in StepStone Group were worth $684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 39,244 shares of the company's stock worth $2,178,000 after purchasing an additional 2,681 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 50,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,828,000 after acquiring an additional 2,805 shares in the last quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Cim LLC raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Cim LLC now owns 32,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,675,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 177,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,256,000 after acquiring an additional 6,014 shares in the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

StepStone Group Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:STEP opened at $66.89 on Wednesday. StepStone Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.07 and a 1-year high of $70.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a PE ratio of -21.72 and a beta of 1.37. The business's 50 day moving average is $62.56 and its 200-day moving average is $57.61.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 16.07% and a negative net margin of 17.10%.The firm had revenue of $237.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. StepStone Group's revenue for the quarter was up 95.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.

StepStone Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This is a boost from StepStone Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. StepStone Group's payout ratio is -36.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on STEP shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on StepStone Group from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays set a $70.00 price objective on StepStone Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded StepStone Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on StepStone Group from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.57.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

In other news, CFO David Y. Park sold 1,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.26, for a total transaction of $63,260.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,392,985.20. This trade represents a 4.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total value of $647,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,588,000. The trade was a 20.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,000 shares of company stock worth $1,937,460 in the last three months. 16.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

StepStone Group Profile

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.

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