Fred Alger Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP)

Fred Alger Management LLC decreased its position in StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,025,223 shares of the company's stock after selling 319,675 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned approximately 1.83% of StepStone Group worth $115,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 291.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 618 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in StepStone Group by 1,586.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 860 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 809 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in StepStone Group by 442.7% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 966 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of StepStone Group during the third quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of StepStone Group by 190.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company's stock.

StepStone Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ STEP traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.89. The company had a trading volume of 427,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 570,282. The stock has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.82 and a beta of 1.27. The company's fifty day moving average price is $61.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.49. StepStone Group LP has a 12 month low of $25.06 and a 12 month high of $70.38.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. StepStone Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 160.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO David Y. Park sold 3,000 shares of StepStone Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.21, for a total transaction of $204,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,381,320.71. This trade represents a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Anthony Keathley sold 729 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.85, for a total value of $50,191.65. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $148,578.30. The trade was a 25.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STEP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their price target on StepStone Group from $51.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on StepStone Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on StepStone Group from $64.00 to $70.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.36.

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.