Roper Technologies price target raised to $540 from $530 at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler raised the firm’s price target on Roper Technologies (ROP) to $540 from $530 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes Q1 was an encouraging update with organic growth improving back to 6% after dipping to 4% last quarter and free cash flow/share growth rebounding back to mid-teens. The big surprise however was the pace of buybacks: $1.5B in the quarter, much greater than Piper would have expected and three times above last quarter’s $500M. The firm cites improving organic growth and faster than expected reduction in shares outstanding for the price target change.