State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Increases Position in Piper Sandler Companies $PIPR

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) by 8.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Piper Sandler Companies were worth $2,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 35.0% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 357,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,456,000 after acquiring an additional 92,527 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 0.8% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 323,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 11.6% during the second quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 279,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,696,000 after acquiring an additional 29,035 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the first quarter worth $49,826,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 0.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 156,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,821,000 after acquiring an additional 992 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.79% of the company’s stock.

Piper Sandler Companies Trading Down 6.0%

Shares of PIPR stock opened at $325.20 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $340.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.44 and a beta of 1.45. Piper Sandler Companies has a 12 month low of $202.91 and a 12 month high of $374.77.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $405.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.52 earnings per share. Piper Sandler Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $0.70 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Piper Sandler Companies’s payout ratio is currently 23.63%.

Insider Activity at Piper Sandler Companies

In other Piper Sandler Companies news, insider Jonathan J. Doyle sold 3,536 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 132,910 shares in the company, valued at $42,111,204.40. This represents a 2.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Chad R. Abraham sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 represents a 15.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,136 shares of company stock worth $8,380,342. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PIPR. Wolfe Research raised 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 12th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Piper Sandler Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $312.50.

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.