State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $3.02 Million Stock Position in StepStone Group Inc. $STEP

State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ:STEP) by 29.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,036 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,673 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in StepStone Group were worth $3,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in StepStone Group by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 42,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,697,000 after purchasing an additional 2,468 shares during the last quarter. Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new position in shares of StepStone Group during the 4th quarter worth $123,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 60.0% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of StepStone Group during the 4th quarter worth $1,825,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STEP opened at $54.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.83 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $49.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.83. StepStone Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.58 and a 52-week high of $77.79.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $241.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.92 million. StepStone Group had a negative net margin of 30.66% and a positive return on equity of 31.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 102.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. Analysts predict that StepStone Group Inc. will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is -16.14%.

StepStone Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, March 9th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STEP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $104.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of StepStone Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of StepStone Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at StepStone Group

In other news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $725,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 16.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.