New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Takes Position in StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 9,726 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $563,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of StepStone Group in the 4th quarter valued at $46,163,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,938,181 shares of the company's stock valued at $401,582,000 after purchasing an additional 411,133 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 12.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,401,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,451,000 after purchasing an additional 265,240 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in StepStone Group by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,457,690 shares of the company's stock worth $82,856,000 after buying an additional 216,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in StepStone Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,543,000. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

STEP stock traded down $7.89 during trading on Thursday, reaching $47.72. 813,422 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 634,483. StepStone Group LP has a 52-week low of $33.92 and a 52-week high of $70.38. The company has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.24 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $58.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.08.

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StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. StepStone Group's dividend payout ratio is currently -56.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on STEP. Evercore ISI increased their price target on StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $69.21.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

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

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.