Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 100 Shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Piper Sandler Companies were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 49.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 625,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $177,395,000 after buying an additional 205,584 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $14,645,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 307.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,174,000 after purchasing an additional 24,388 shares during the period. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC purchased a new position in Piper Sandler Companies during the third quarter valued at $6,106,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 9.0% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 145,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,244,000 after purchasing an additional 11,964 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of PIPR stock opened at $313.12 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $305.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $315.81. Piper Sandler Companies has a 52 week low of $177.80 and a 52 week high of $351.80. The stock has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64 and a beta of 1.46.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business posted $4.03 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Piper Sandler Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid 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 0.83%. Piper Sandler Companies’s payout ratio is currently 25.44%.

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.