1,806 Shares in Piper Sandler Companies $PIPR Acquired by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. invested approximately $447,000 in Piper Sandler Companies, acquiring 1,806 shares during the first quarter.
• Piper Sandler reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.95, significantly exceeding analyst expectations, with year-over-year revenue growth of 13.4%.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.65 to $0.70 per share, reflecting a 0.9% yield and a payout ratio of 23.63%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $447,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Piper Sandler Companies by 131.9% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 495.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Piper Sandler Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies in the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.79% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Chad R. Abraham sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.71, for a total transaction of $2,589,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 53,558 shares in the company, valued at $17,337,260.18. This trade represents a 13.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Scott C. Taylor sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.86, for a total value of $831,636.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,319 shares in the company, valued at $5,219,795.34. This represents a 13.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PIPR. Wolfe Research raised 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. Wall Street Zen raised Piper Sandler Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $312.50.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Performance

Shares of PIPR traded down $2.8660 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $322.8240. The company had a trading volume of 78,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 144,532. The company has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of 27.24 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.45. Piper Sandler Companies has a 1-year low of $202.91 and a 1-year high of $351.80.

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

Piper Sandler Companies Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Piper Sandler Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Piper Sandler Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.