Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Decreases Holdings in Piper Sandler Companies $PIPR

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC has reduced its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 14.3%, now owning 224,486 shares valued at approximately $55.60 million.
• Piper Sandler Companies reported $2.95 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates of $1.99, and its revenue increased by 13.4% year-over-year.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, up from the previous dividend of $0.65, with the payout ratio standing at 21.94%.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC cut its position in Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Free Report) by 14.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 224,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 37,492 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 1.26% of Piper Sandler Companies worth $55,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PIPR. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 131.9% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Piper Sandler Companies during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of 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 bought a new stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors own 72.79% of the company's stock.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Performance

Piper Sandler Companies stock traded down $1.8730 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $321.7670. 72,334 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 158,122. Piper Sandler Companies has a 52-week low of $202.91 and a 52-week high of $351.80. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $299.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15 and a beta of 1.50.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.96. The company had revenue of $405.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.40 million. Piper Sandler Companies had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 13.18%.Piper Sandler Companies's revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Piper Sandler Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This is a boost 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 (DPR) is presently 21.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on PIPR. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Piper Sandler Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Piper Sandler Companies from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $339.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Piper Sandler Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $312.50.

Insider Activity at Piper Sandler Companies

In other news, insider Jonathan J. Doyle sold 3,536 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.84, for a total value of $1,120,346.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 132,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,111,204.40. This represents a 2.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Chad R. Abraham sold 10,000 shares of Piper Sandler Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.33, for a total transaction of $3,193,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 53,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,102,676.14. This represents a 15.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,136 shares of company stock worth $8,380,342 in the last 90 days. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.