StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP) Stake Raised by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 871,718 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,523 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.76% of StepStone Group worth $50,455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in STEP. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in StepStone Group by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,938,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,582,000 after buying an additional 411,133 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,401,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,451,000 after acquiring an additional 265,240 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,711,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,083,000 after acquiring an additional 77,490 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of StepStone Group by 17.4% during the third 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 period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,409,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,518,000 after purchasing an additional 297,989 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

Shares of STEP opened at $43.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of -25.98 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $57.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.93. StepStone Group LP has a 52 week low of $34.01 and a 52 week high of $70.38.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -56.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on STEP shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on StepStone Group from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, StepStone Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 110,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,757,300. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Anthony Keathley sold 538 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $33,894.00. Following the transaction, 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 owned by corporate insiders.

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.