StepStone Group Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.28 (NASDAQ:STEP)

StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be paid a dividend of 0.28 per share on Monday, December 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th.

StepStone Group has a dividend payout ratio of 48.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect StepStone Group to earn $2.04 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.9%.

StepStone Group Trading Down 2.9%

StepStone Group stock traded down $1.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $60.41. The stock had a trading volume of 209,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 616,100. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a PE ratio of -19.62 and a beta of 1.36. StepStone Group has a 12 month low of $40.07 and a 12 month high of $70.38.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $282.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.15 million. StepStone Group had a positive return on equity of 16.07% and a negative net margin of 17.10%.The company’s revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that StepStone Group will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at StepStone Group

In related news, CFO David Y. Park sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.26, for a total transaction of $63,260.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,020 shares in the company, valued at $1,392,985.20. This trade represents a 4.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.34, for a total transaction of $643,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,200. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 31,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,968,060 in the last three months. 16.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STEP. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in StepStone Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 35.5% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 38.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of StepStone Group by 332.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in StepStone Group by 14.0% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

StepStone Group Company 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.