StepStone Group LP (NASDAQ:STEP – Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,400,000 shares, a growth of 26.3% from the November 15th total of 1,900,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 673,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 22,091 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were 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 trade represents a 12.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO David Y. Park sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.21, for a total transaction of $204,630.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,251 shares in the company, valued at $1,381,320.71. This trade represents a 12.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,820 shares of company stock worth $1,908,856. Corporate insiders own 18.44% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On StepStone Group
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in StepStone Group by 291.1% in the 3rd 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 stake in shares of StepStone Group by 1,586.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 809 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in StepStone Group by 442.7% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 966 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in StepStone Group during the third quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 777 shares during the period. 55.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
StepStone Group Price Performance
StepStone Group Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. StepStone Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 160.00%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms recently commented on STEP. UBS Group lifted their price target on StepStone Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on StepStone Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on StepStone Group from $73.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of StepStone Group from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.64.
Get Our Latest Report on StepStone Group
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.
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