Wasatch Advisors LP Sells 16,550 Shares of StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP)

Wasatch Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP - Free Report) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,106,630 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,550 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP owned 0.96% of StepStone Group worth $64,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of STEP. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in StepStone Group by 28.7% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 41,916 shares of the company's stock worth $2,382,000 after buying an additional 9,357 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in StepStone Group by 368.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,019 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,366,000 after purchasing an additional 88,095 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in StepStone Group by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,457,690 shares of the company's stock worth $82,856,000 after purchasing an additional 216,029 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 11.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 805,195 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,279,000 after purchasing an additional 85,904 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 43.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 417,845 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,746,000 after buying an additional 126,315 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

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

StepStone Group Stock Performance

Shares of StepStone Group stock traded down $2.38 on Monday, reaching $44.68. The stock had a trading volume of 67,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 658,239. StepStone Group LP has a fifty-two week low of $34.91 and a fifty-two week high of $70.38. The business's 50-day moving average price is $53.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.04. The stock has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.44 and a beta of 1.36.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. StepStone Group's payout ratio is presently -56.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer set a $67.00 price target on StepStone Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $69.00 to $48.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.64.

StepStone Group 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.