StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP) Announces $0.24 Quarterly Dividend

StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of 0.24 per share on Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th.

StepStone Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 35.7% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 3 consecutive years. StepStone Group has a dividend payout ratio of 41.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect StepStone Group to earn $2.04 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.1%.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of STEP stock traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $60.26. 2,013,345 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 683,987. The company's 50 day moving average is $52.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.82. The company has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.66 and a beta of 1.37. StepStone Group has a 1 year low of $40.07 and a 1 year high of $70.38.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) last released 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. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 12.04% and a negative net margin of 11.29%. The firm had revenue of $295.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $231.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. StepStone Group's revenue was up 66.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that StepStone Group will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on STEP. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. Barclays boosted their price target on StepStone Group from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Oppenheimer set a $67.00 price objective on StepStone Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on StepStone Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, StepStone Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.57.

Insider Transactions at StepStone Group

In related news, insider Jason P. Ment sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total value of $48,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 90,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,441,593.26. The trade was a 0.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total transaction of $54,009.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 109,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,547,091. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.44% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of STEP. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in StepStone Group during the first quarter worth approximately $209,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 72.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,135 shares of the company's stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 3,843 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 6.5% during the first 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. grew its position 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. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company's stock.

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.