Legato Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR)

Legato Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) by 63.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm 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 quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Piper Sandler Companies by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 682,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,680,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 49.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 625,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $177,395,000 after acquiring an additional 205,584 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 377,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,184,000 after acquiring an additional 7,344 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 205,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,245,000 after acquiring an additional 2,689 shares during the last quarter. 72.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:PIPR opened at $304.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.77 and a beta of 1.46. Piper Sandler Companies has a one year low of $177.80 and a one year high of $351.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $305.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $315.99.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 11.87%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Piper Sandler Companies Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Piper Sandler Companies’s payout ratio is currently 25.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PIPR. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Piper Sandler Companies from $298.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Piper Sandler Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

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.