StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 1,067,669 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 4% from the previous session’s volume of 1,026,738 shares.The stock last traded at $45.3620 and had previously closed at $50.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays set a $67.00 price objective on StepStone Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.57.

StepStone Group Stock Up 1.7%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $65.64 and its 200 day moving average is $63.71. The firm has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15 and a beta of 1.32.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 30.66% and a positive return on equity of 31.44%. The company had revenue of $241.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. StepStone Group’s quarterly revenue was up 102.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is -16.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other StepStone Group news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $725,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe sold 117,838 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.20, for a total transaction of $7,800,875.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 306,026 shares in the company, valued at $20,258,921.20. The trade was a 27.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 212,052 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,290. Company insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,257,880 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of StepStone Group during the third quarter worth approximately $50,859,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in StepStone Group by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,449,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,229,000 after purchasing an additional 728,410 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in StepStone Group by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,102,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,439,000 after purchasing an additional 724,201 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 320.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 749,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,972,000 after buying an additional 571,643 shares in the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.