Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Increases Holdings in StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 967,800 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,559 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in StepStone Group were worth $63,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STEP. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in StepStone Group by 72.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 3,843 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 6.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in StepStone Group by 6.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,238 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in StepStone Group by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 357,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,661,000 after acquiring an additional 63,519 shares during the period. Finally, United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in StepStone Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $209,000. Institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ STEP opened at $75.06 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $65.88 and its 200 day moving average is $63.31. The stock has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.38 and a beta of 1.34. StepStone Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.07 and a 1-year high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $282.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $272.15 million. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 40.06% and a positive return on equity of 21.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jose A. Fernandez sold 70,402 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.30, for a total transaction of $4,386,044.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael I. Mccabe sold 74,214 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.14, for a total value of $4,908,513.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 122,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,082,903.26. The trade was a 37.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 362,858 shares of company stock valued at $23,341,044 over the last three months. Insiders own 16.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StepStone Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on StepStone Group in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded StepStone Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays raised their price target on StepStone Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on StepStone Group from $73.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.71.

StepStone Group Profile

StepStone Group is a global private markets investment firm that provides specialized investment solutions across private equity, private credit and real assets. The firm offers customized portfolios, secondary interests, direct co-investments and tailored advisory services to institutional investors worldwide. StepStone’s integrated research and data analytics platform supports its investment teams in sourcing opportunities and monitoring portfolio companies.

Founded in 2007 as an independent private markets specialist, the company has grown its presence through both organic expansion and strategic partnerships.