First Trust Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP - Free Report) by 281.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,557 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 109,602 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.13% of StepStone Group worth $8,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of StepStone Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in StepStone Group during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Amundi grew its position in StepStone Group by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 730 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in StepStone Group by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 844 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

StepStone Group Stock Up 5.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ STEP traded up $3.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $54.60. 814,555 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 669,789. The company has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.31 and a beta of 1.36. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $51.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.31. StepStone Group LP has a one year low of $36.97 and a one year high of $70.38.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. StepStone Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -56.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Anthony Keathley sold 538 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $33,894.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,318. This trade represents a 27.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total transaction of $614,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 110,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,757,300. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on STEP. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer set a $67.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $69.00 to $48.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on StepStone Group from $66.00 to $51.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.64.

StepStone Group Company 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.