Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 1,160 Shares of 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 reduced its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Piper Sandler Companies during the first quarter worth $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 495.2% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Piper Sandler Companies during the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Piper Sandler Companies during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 72.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PIPR. Wall Street Zen lowered Piper Sandler Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Piper Sandler Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $312.50.

Insider Transactions at Piper Sandler Companies

In related news, General Counsel John W. Geelan sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.69, for a total value of $645,380.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 12,645 shares in the company, valued at $4,080,415.05. This trade represents a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Scott C. Taylor sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 16,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,219,795.34. This represents a 13.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,136 shares of company stock worth $8,380,342 in the last ninety days. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:PIPR traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $346.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 151,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 101,740. Piper Sandler Companies has a fifty-two week low of $202.91 and a fifty-two week high of $351.80. The company has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.21 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $321.40.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $405.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $349.40 million. Piper Sandler Companies had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 13.18%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Piper Sandler Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a $0.70 dividend. 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 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Piper Sandler Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.63%.

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.