American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Piper Sandler Companies $PIPR

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. significantly increased its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 83.9%, acquiring an additional 7,274 shares to reach a total of 15,939 shares valued at approximately $3.95 million.
• Piper Sandler Companies recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, an increase from its prior dividend of $0.65, with a dividend yield of 0.8%.
• The company reported a strong quarterly earnings performance, with an EPS of $2.95 beating the consensus estimate by $0.96, alongside a revenue increase of 13.4% year-over-year.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Free Report) by 83.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,939 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,274 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.09% of Piper Sandler Companies worth $3,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $88,456,000 after purchasing an additional 92,527 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 0.8% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 323,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $80,114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 16.8% in the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 250,507 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,041,000 after purchasing an additional 35,953 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Piper Sandler Companies in the first quarter worth about $49,826,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 200,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $59,991,000 after purchasing an additional 17,120 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Piper Sandler Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $312.50.

Insider Activity

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

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Performance

PIPR traded up $8.95 during trading on Thursday, hitting $331.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 88,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,272. Piper Sandler Companies has a one year low of $202.91 and a one year high of $351.80. The stock has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.96 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $315.47.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.96. The business had revenue of $405.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.40 million. Piper Sandler Companies had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.52 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Piper Sandler Companies Increases Dividend

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

About Piper Sandler Companies

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.