StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Price Target Lowered to $51.00 at Morgan Stanley

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $66.00 to $51.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.37% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on STEP. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer increased their target price 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on StepStone Group from $69.00 to $48.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, StepStone Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.64.

StepStone Group Price Performance

STEP stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $47.06. 366,043 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 660,471. StepStone Group has a one year low of $34.91 and a one year high of $70.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.85 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $53.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.05.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $33,894.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,318. The trade was a 27.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $614,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 110,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,757,300. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.44% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 730 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 9,578 shares of the company's stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in StepStone Group by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,079 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in StepStone Group by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 844 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of StepStone Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 30,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,771,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 55.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.