Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,908 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in StepStone Group were worth $1,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STEP. Amundi raised its position in StepStone Group by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in StepStone Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 9,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in StepStone Group by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of StepStone Group by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 30,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,771,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 55.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total transaction of $614,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 110,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,757,300. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Anthony Keathley sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $33,894.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,318. The trade was a 27.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on STEP. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on StepStone Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on StepStone Group from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.21.

StepStone Group Price Performance

STEP stock opened at $56.54 on Tuesday. StepStone Group LP has a 1 year low of $33.90 and a 1 year high of $70.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.46 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s 50-day moving average is $59.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.02.

StepStone Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -56.80%.

StepStone Group 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.