Alliancebernstein L.P. Acquires 8,066 Shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR)

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 360,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,066 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 2.03% of Piper Sandler Companies worth $108,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Piper Sandler Companies by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,063,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $618,974,000 after buying an additional 31,400 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 682,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $193,680,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 377,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,184,000 after purchasing an additional 7,344 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Piper Sandler Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $68,696,000. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 214,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,355,000 after purchasing an additional 6,970 shares in the last quarter. 72.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Piper Sandler Companies Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE PIPR opened at $259.03 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35 and a beta of 1.38. Piper Sandler Companies has a 12 month low of $183.58 and a 12 month high of $351.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $259.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $287.41.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business posted $4.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Piper Sandler Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Piper Sandler Companies from $321.00 to $286.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th.

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.