Benjamin Edwards Inc. Invests $447,000 in Piper Sandler Companies $PIPR

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. purchased a new stake in Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $447,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 1.4% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,704 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,660,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 58.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 440 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 0.6% during 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 buying an additional 992 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 11.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,015 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Piper Sandler Companies

In related news, General Counsel John W. Geelan sold 2,000 shares of Piper Sandler Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This trade represents a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Scott C. Taylor sold 2,600 shares of Piper Sandler Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $5,219,795.34. This represents a 13.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,136 shares of company stock valued at $8,380,342. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Piper Sandler Companies Price Performance

PIPR stock traded down $2.3650 during trading on Thursday, hitting $319.6950. 67,735 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 154,262. The company has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.98 and a beta of 1.50. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $301.10. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.96. The company had revenue of $405.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.40 million. Piper Sandler Companies had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 18.67%. Piper Sandler Companies's revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Piper Sandler Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from Piper Sandler Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Piper Sandler Companies's dividend payout ratio is 21.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.