First Trust Advisors LP Sells 12,687 Shares of PJT Partners Inc. $PJT

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP cut its PJT Partners stake by 27.4%, selling 12,687 shares and retaining 33,674 shares valued at approximately $4.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.23% of the company.
• PJT Partners reported quarterly earnings of $1.97 per share, beating estimates of $1.57, while revenue rose 19.5% year over year to $486.29 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but improved, with recent price-target increases and upgrades; the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average target price of $177.50.

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its stake in shares of PJT Partners Inc. (NYSE:PJT - Free Report) by 27.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,687 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.13% of PJT Partners worth $4,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in shares of PJT Partners by 40.4% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 824,537 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,204,000 after purchasing an additional 237,428 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in PJT Partners by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 682,886 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $114,195,000 after purchasing an additional 16,388 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in PJT Partners by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 659,729 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $110,307,000 after purchasing an additional 45,758 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in PJT Partners by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 535,857 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,595,000 after buying an additional 16,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in PJT Partners by 9.8% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 528,689 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $87,239,000 after buying an additional 47,279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of PJT Partners from $183.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research raised shares of PJT Partners from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PJT Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of PJT Partners in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on PJT Partners from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $177.50.

PJT Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PJT opened at $171.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $160.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.15. The stock has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42 and a beta of 0.84. PJT Partners Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.73 and a 52-week high of $195.62.

PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $486.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $425.28 million. PJT Partners had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 32.66%. PJT Partners's revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. Analysts predict that PJT Partners Inc. will post 8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PJT Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. PJT Partners's payout ratio is 13.68%.

Insider Activity at PJT Partners

In other news, Director Grace Reksten Skaugen sold 1,283 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.67, for a total value of $215,120.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $83,835. This represents a 71.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.98% of the company's stock.

About PJT Partners

PJT Partners is a global advisory-focused investment bank that delivers strategic advisory, restructuring and special situations, and capital solutions to corporations, partnerships, and governments. The firm operates through three primary business segments: Strategic Advisory, which covers mergers and acquisitions, shareholder advisory, and capital markets advisory; Restructuring and Special Situations, which provides advice on debt and liability management, distressed mergers and acquisitions, and financial restructurings; and Park Hill, the firm's dedicated capital-raising and secondary advisory business for private equity, real estate, hedge funds, and infrastructure.

The Strategic Advisory practice at PJT Partners assists clients with complex transactions such as cross-border mergers, spin-offs, divestitures, and takeover defenses, drawing on deep industry expertise and global reach.

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