Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Stake in Piper Sandler Companies $PIPR

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has reduced its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 4.9%, now holding approximately $84.83 million worth of shares.
• Insider trades include significant sales by General Counsel John W. Geelan and CEO Chad R. Abraham, indicating a decrease in their ownership stakes in the company.
• Piper Sandler Companies recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.70 per share, reflecting a boost from the previous dividend and a yield of 0.9%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Free Report) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 342,518 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,706 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 1.93% of Piper Sandler Companies worth $84,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PIPR. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 35.0% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 357,167 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $88,456,000 after purchasing an additional 92,527 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 323,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $80,114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 35,953 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Piper Sandler Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,826,000. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 199,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,943,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Piper Sandler Companies news, insider Jonathan J. Doyle sold 3,536 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.84, for a total value of $1,120,346.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 132,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,111,204.40. The trade was a 2.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Scott C. Taylor sold 2,600 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 16,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,219,795.34. This represents a 13.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,136 shares of company stock worth $8,380,342. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PIPR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Piper Sandler Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $312.50.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE PIPR traded up $10.64 during trading on Thursday, reaching $346.76. The company had a trading volume of 124,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 99,913. Piper Sandler Companies has a twelve month low of $202.91 and a twelve month high of $351.80. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $320.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.26 and a beta of 1.45.

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 EPS 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 business had revenue of $405.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Piper Sandler Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Piper Sandler Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Piper Sandler Companies's payout ratio is presently 23.63%.

Piper Sandler Companies 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.