PJT Partners Inc. $PJT Shares Acquired by Wasatch Advisors LP

Key Points

• Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its PJT Partners stake by 40.4% in the first quarter, buying 237,428 additional shares and ending with 824,537 shares worth about $115.2 million.
• Analyst sentiment on PJT is mixed but leans cautious overall: the stock has a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $173.33, though some firms recently raised targets and Goldman Sachs upgraded it to Buy.
• PJT Partners reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while also paying a $0.25 quarterly dividend; however, the stock was down slightly and recent insider sales included moves by the general counsel and CFO.

Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of PJT Partners Inc. (NYSE:PJT - Free Report) by 40.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 824,537 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 237,428 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP owned approximately 3.41% of PJT Partners worth $115,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in PJT Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in PJT Partners by 85.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 288 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of PJT Partners during the second quarter worth about $63,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PJT Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of PJT Partners during the fourth quarter valued at about $86,000. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on PJT. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of PJT Partners from $152.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of PJT Partners from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of PJT Partners in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of PJT Partners from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of PJT Partners from $166.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $173.33.

PJT Partners Stock Down 0.4%

PJT Partners stock opened at $151.76 on Friday. PJT Partners Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.73 and a 52 week high of $195.62. The company has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $155.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.04.

PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.03. PJT Partners had a net margin of 10.32% and a return on equity of 32.00%. The company had revenue of $418.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $409.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. PJT Partners's quarterly revenue was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that PJT Partners Inc. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PJT Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. PJT Partners's dividend payout ratio is 14.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel David Adam Travin sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.43, for a total value of $457,290.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 2,052 shares in the company, valued at $312,786.36. This represents a 59.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Helen T. Meates sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.19, for a total transaction of $1,225,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 58,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,956,406.54. This represents a 12.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 10.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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