StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) Price Target Cut to $51.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

StepStone Group (NASDAQ:STEP) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $66.00 to $51.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 6.67% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on STEP. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on StepStone Group from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on StepStone Group from $69.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of StepStone Group from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.21.

StepStone Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:STEP opened at $47.81 on Monday. StepStone Group has a one year low of $34.64 and a one year high of $70.38. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.29 and a beta of 1.36.

Insider Activity at StepStone Group

In related news, CEO Scott W. Hart sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total transaction of $614,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 110,000 shares in the company, valued at $6,757,300. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Anthony Keathley sold 538 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $33,894.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,386 shares in the company, valued at $87,318. This represents 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 insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of StepStone Group by 368.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,366,000 after purchasing an additional 88,095 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of StepStone Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $388,000. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in StepStone Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $355,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in StepStone Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $941,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in StepStone Group by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 438,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,359,000 after acquiring an additional 20,285 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.54% of the company’s stock.

StepStone Group Company 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.