NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Sells 4,487 Shares of Piper Sandler Companies $PIPR

Key Points

• NorthCrest Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 49%, selling 4,487 shares in the second quarter, resulting in ownership of 4,668 shares worth approximately $1.37 million.
• In recent insider activity, CEO Chad R. Abraham sold 10,000 shares at an average price of $319.33, while General Counsel John W. Geelan sold 2,000 shares at $322.69, indicating significant insider selling.
• Piper Sandler Companies has announced an increase in its dividend from $0.65 to $0.70 per share, reflecting a positive outlook with a payout ratio of 23.63% and an annual yield of 0.8%.

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC cut its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Free Report) by 49.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,668 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,487 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in Piper Sandler Companies were worth $1,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Piper Sandler Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $215,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 1.4% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 58.8% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 0.6% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 992 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,015 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. 72.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PIPR. Wall Street Zen downgraded Piper Sandler Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded Piper Sandler Companies from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $339.00 price objective for the company in a research report 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Piper Sandler Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $312.50.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Performance

Shares of PIPR stock traded up $4.22 on Tuesday, hitting $368.43. The company had a trading volume of 11,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 141,697. The stock has a market cap of $6.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06 and a beta of 1.45. The company's 50-day moving average price is $328.94. Piper Sandler Companies has a twelve month low of $202.91 and a twelve month high of $374.77.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.96. Piper Sandler Companies had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 13.18%.The company had revenue of $405.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $349.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.52 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Piper Sandler Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Piper Sandler Companies's payout ratio is 23.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.