Legato Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR)

Legato Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Free Report) by 63.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,318 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,456 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC's holdings in Piper Sandler Companies were worth $1,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 214,554 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,355,000 after acquiring an additional 6,970 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 10,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,204,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in Piper Sandler Companies during the fourth quarter worth $225,000. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Piper Sandler Companies during the fourth quarter worth $407,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 768 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. 72.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PIPR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Piper Sandler Companies from $298.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Piper Sandler Companies Price Performance

Shares of PIPR traded up $5.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $305.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 79,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 90,364. The company has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.92 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $306.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $315.79. Piper Sandler Companies has a 52-week low of $182.84 and a 52-week high of $351.80.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.99 by $0.81. Piper Sandler Companies had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 17.00%. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.03 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Piper Sandler Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Piper Sandler Companies's payout ratio is presently 25.44%.

Piper Sandler Companies 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.