Great Lakes Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Piper Sandler Companies $PIPR

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 3.3%, now holding 34,458 shares worth approximately $8.53 million.
• Piper Sandler reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.95, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.99, with a revenue of $405.39 million.
• The company also announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.70 per share, reflecting positive financial performance.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Free Report) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,160 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned 0.19% of Piper Sandler Companies worth $8,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $88,456,000 after purchasing an additional 92,527 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $80,114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $62,041,000 after acquiring an additional 35,953 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Piper Sandler Companies in the first quarter valued at $49,826,000. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 199,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,943,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Piper Sandler Companies

In other news, Director Scott C. Taylor sold 2,600 shares of Piper Sandler Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.86, for a total transaction of $831,636.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,219,795.34. The trade was a 13.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel John W. Geelan sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,136 shares of company stock worth $8,380,342. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE PIPR opened at $333.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $317.47. Piper Sandler Companies has a 52-week low of $202.91 and a 52-week high of $351.80. The company has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14 and a beta of 1.45.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.96. The business 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Piper Sandler Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 presently 23.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PIPR shares. Wall Street Zen cut Piper Sandler Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Wolfe Research raised 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $312.50.

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.

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