Axiom Investors LLC DE Sells 19,971 Shares of Piper Sandler Companies $PIPR

Key Points

• Axiom Investors LLC DE sold 19,971 shares of Piper Sandler Companies, reducing its stake by 35.8% to a total of 35,799 shares valued at approximately $8.87 million.
• Piper Sandler Companies reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.95 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.96, with revenue of $405.39 million.
• The company announced a dividend increase from $0.65 to $0.70, set to be paid on September 12th, reflecting a 0.8% dividend yield.

Axiom Investors LLC DE decreased its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Free Report) by 35.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,799 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 19,971 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE owned approximately 0.20% of Piper Sandler Companies worth $8,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Piper Sandler Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,704 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,660,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 58.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 440 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 156,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,821,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 11.6% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,015 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 72.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $339.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Piper Sandler Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $312.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan J. Doyle sold 3,536 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.84, for a total transaction of $1,120,346.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 132,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,111,204.40. The trade was a 2.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel John W. Geelan sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.69, for a total transaction of $645,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 12,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 a total of 26,136 shares of company stock valued at $8,380,342 in the last three months. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:PIPR traded up $4.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $338.95. 145,704 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 151,558. Piper Sandler Companies has a 1 year low of $202.91 and a 1 year high of $351.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.06. The firm has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.60 and a beta of 1.50.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) last issued 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $349.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 EPS for the current year.

Piper Sandler Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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%. This is a positive change from Piper Sandler Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Piper Sandler Companies's dividend payout ratio is 21.94%.

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.