The Goldman Sachs Group Raises StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Price Target to $46.00

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) had its price target increased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $41.25 to $46.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on StepStone Group from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Oppenheimer began coverage on StepStone Group in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an outperform rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised StepStone Group from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $49.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on StepStone Group from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $38.50.

StepStone Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:STEP opened at $46.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.39 and a 200 day moving average of $36.50. The company has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 51.42 and a beta of 1.27. StepStone Group has a 12-month low of $23.24 and a 12-month high of $46.87.

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $177.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $162.47 million. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that StepStone Group will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

StepStone Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Variable dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.9%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.33%.

Insider Transactions at StepStone Group

In other news, Director David F. Hoffmeister acquired 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $44.29 per share, with a total value of $996,525.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 45,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,030,829.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Steven R. Mitchell sold 27,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.34, for a total transaction of $1,219,350.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $406,110.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David F. Hoffmeister purchased 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $44.29 per share, for a total transaction of $996,525.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 45,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,030,829.37. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 18.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of StepStone Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STEP. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in StepStone Group during the 1st quarter valued at $149,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in StepStone Group during the 1st quarter valued at $243,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in StepStone Group by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 963 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in StepStone Group during the 4th quarter valued at $442,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in StepStone Group by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 3,937 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

About StepStone Group

StepStone Group LP. is an investment firm specializing in direct, fund of funds, secondary direct, and secondary indirect investments. For direct investment, it seeks to invest in venture debt, incubation, mezzanine, distressed/vulture, seed/startup, early venture, mid venture, late venture, emerging growth, later stage, turnaround, growth capital, industry consolidation, recapitalization, private equity and buyout investments in mature and middle market companies.