StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP) Receives $69.21 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.21.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $64.00 to $70.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

StepStone Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STEP opened at $52.26 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.07. StepStone Group has a one year low of $32.58 and a one year high of $70.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of -30.92 and a beta of 1.33.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. StepStone Group’s payout ratio is currently -56.80%.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

In other StepStone Group news, CAO Anthony Keathley sold 538 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $33,894.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,318. The trade was a 27.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of StepStone Group 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 110,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,757,300. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of StepStone Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in StepStone Group in the fourth quarter worth about $237,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 68.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 156,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,083,000 after purchasing an additional 63,573 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the fourth quarter worth about $5,980,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the fourth quarter worth about $543,000. Institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

About StepStone Group

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.