Vestcor Inc Reduces Holdings in Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc reduced its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 80.3%, selling 4,588 shares and owning 1,125 shares valued at approximately $279,000.
• Piper Sandler recently reported a Q2 earnings EPS of $2.95, significantly exceeding analysts' estimates, with revenue of $405.39 million, up 13.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, an increase from its previous dividend of $0.65, with an annual dividend yield of 0.9%.

Vestcor Inc decreased its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Free Report) by 80.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,588 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Piper Sandler Companies were worth $279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 697,824 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $209,312,000 after buying an additional 102,426 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 323,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $80,114,000 after buying an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 250,507 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,041,000 after buying an additional 35,953 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 200,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,991,000 after buying an additional 17,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 199,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,943,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.79% of the company's stock.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE PIPR traded up $2.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $323.82. 43,613 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 144,319. The company has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37 and a beta of 1.50. Piper Sandler Companies has a one year low of $202.91 and a one year high of $351.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $287.31.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.96. The firm had revenue of $405.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.40 million. Piper Sandler Companies had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 13.18%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Piper Sandler Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Piper Sandler Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Piper Sandler Companies's dividend payout ratio is 21.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PIPR has been the subject of a number of research 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 objective for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Monday, May 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Chad R. Abraham sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.71, for a total transaction of $2,589,680.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 53,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,337,260.18. This trade represents a 13.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathan J. Doyle sold 3,536 shares of Piper Sandler Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 132,910 shares in the company, valued at $42,111,204.40. This trade represents a 2.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,136 shares of company stock worth $7,734,962 over the last three months. 2.70% of the stock is owned by 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.