Piper Sandler Companies $PIPR Stake Lowered by Systematic Financial Management LP

Key Points

• Systematic Financial Management LP reduced its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 2.8%, owning approximately $48.12 million worth of shares after selling 5,564 shares in the first quarter.
• The CEO, Chad R. Abraham, sold 10,000 shares for approximately $3.19 million, reducing his ownership by 15.73%, while insiders collectively sold over $8.38 million in stock last quarter.
• Piper Sandler Companies recently surpassed analysts' earnings estimates, reporting $2.95 EPS and a revenue of $405.39 million for the quarter, marking a 13.4% increase year-over-year.

Systematic Financial Management LP lowered its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 194,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,564 shares during the quarter. Piper Sandler Companies accounts for 1.4% of Systematic Financial Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Systematic Financial Management LP owned 1.09% of Piper Sandler Companies worth $48,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PIPR. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 874 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 131.9% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. 72.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PIPR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $339.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Piper Sandler Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $312.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Chad R. Abraham sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 53,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,102,676.14. This trade represents a 15.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel John W. Geelan sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 approximately $4,080,415.05. This represents a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders 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 1.4%

Shares of PIPR stock traded up $4.52 on Tuesday, hitting $338.95. 145,704 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 151,558. The company has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.60 and a beta of 1.50. Piper Sandler Companies has a 1-year low of $202.91 and a 1-year high of $351.80. The stock's fifty day moving average is $306.06.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.96. Piper Sandler Companies had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The business had revenue of $405.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.52 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Piper Sandler Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. 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 dividend yield of 0.8%. Piper Sandler Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.94%.

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.