Brokerages Set StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP) PT at $66.64

StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $66.64.

STEP has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut their target price on StepStone Group from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on StepStone Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on StepStone Group from $73.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on StepStone Group from $64.00 to $70.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th.

Insider Transactions at StepStone Group

In related news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 22,091 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.24, for a total value of $1,397,034.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 157,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,986,165.16. This represents a 12.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Anthony Keathley sold 729 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.85, for a total transaction of $50,191.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,578.30. This represents a 25.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,820 shares of company stock valued at $1,908,856 in the last three months. 18.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StepStone Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STEP. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in StepStone Group by 291.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in StepStone Group by 1,586.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of StepStone Group by 442.7% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the third quarter worth $63,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in StepStone Group by 190.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares in the last quarter. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

StepStone Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of StepStone Group stock opened at $60.93 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.55 and a beta of 1.27. StepStone Group has a 12-month low of $30.46 and a 12-month high of $70.38.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 160.00%.

About StepStone Group

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.