Piper Sandler Companies $PIPR Shares Sold by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 23.0% to 4,131 shares during the first quarter, reflecting significant changes among institutional investors.
• Piper Sandler recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.95 for the last quarter, which exceeded analyst expectations by $0.96, and also demonstrated a 13.4% increase in year-over-year revenue.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.70 per share, raising its annualized dividend yield to 0.8%.

Acadian Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Free Report) by 23.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,232 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in Piper Sandler Companies were worth $1,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Piper Sandler Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,826,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Piper Sandler Companies by 39,239.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 108,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,988,000 after purchasing an additional 108,693 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 35.0% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 357,167 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $88,456,000 after acquiring an additional 92,527 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 384.7% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 50,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,541,000 after acquiring an additional 40,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 250,507 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,041,000 after buying an additional 35,953 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.79% of the company's stock.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Piper Sandler Companies stock traded down $3.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $366.33. 269,879 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 127,163. The business's 50 day moving average is $327.76. The company has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.91 and a beta of 1.45. Piper Sandler Companies has a one year low of $202.91 and a one year high of $374.77.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.96. Piper Sandler Companies had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 13.18%.The firm had revenue of $405.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $349.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.52 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 EPS for the current year.

Piper Sandler Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Piper Sandler Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Piper Sandler Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Piper Sandler Companies from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $339.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $312.50.

Insider Transactions at Piper Sandler Companies

In other Piper Sandler Companies news, General Counsel John W. Geelan sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.69, for a total value of $645,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 12,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,080,415.05. This represents a 13.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott C. Taylor sold 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.86, for a total value of $831,636.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,219,795.34. This trade represents a 13.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,136 shares of company stock valued at $8,380,342 over the last 90 days. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Piper Sandler Companies Company Profile

Piper Sandler Companies operates as an investment bank and institutional securities firm that serves corporations, private equity groups, public entities, non-profit entities, and institutional investors in the United States and internationally. It offers investment banking services and institutional sales, trading, and research services for various equity and fixed income products; advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt private placements, and debt and restructuring advisory; raises capital through equity and debt financings; underwrites municipal issuances; and municipal financial advisory and loan placement services, as well as various over-the-counter derivative products.