Barclays PLC Purchases 19,201 Shares of StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP)

Barclays PLC increased its stake in StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP - Free Report) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 131,220 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,201 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.11% of StepStone Group worth $7,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

StepStone Group Stock Performance

Shares of StepStone Group stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.53. 575,210 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 663,585. The company has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.90 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.63. StepStone Group LP has a 12 month low of $35.25 and a 12 month high of $70.38.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. StepStone Group's payout ratio is -56.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

STEP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer set a $67.00 price objective on shares of StepStone Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on StepStone Group from $66.00 to $51.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on StepStone Group from $69.00 to $48.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.