Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Sold by Fourth Sail Capital LP

Fourth Sail Capital LP lowered its position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 35.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 116,400 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 64,300 shares during the period. Popular accounts for approximately 2.4% of Fourth Sail Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Fourth Sail Capital LP owned approximately 0.16% of Popular worth $10,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,881,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Popular by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $88,859,000 after buying an additional 366,870 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Popular by 395.0% in the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 429,197 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,224,000 after acquiring an additional 342,492 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 835,311 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,867,000 after acquiring an additional 286,450 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the 1st quarter valued at about $19,997,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP opened at $98.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.78. Popular, Inc. has a twelve month low of $59.27 and a twelve month high of $105.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.52.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $751.57 million. Popular had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 12.20%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 36.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 5,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.60, for a total transaction of $577,499.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,920,387.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Popular in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays raised their target price on Popular from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Popular in a research note on Monday, August 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.00.

Popular Company Profile

Popular, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides various retail, mortgage, and commercial banking products and services in Puerto Rico, the United States, and the British Virgin Islands. The company provides savings, NOW, money market, and other interest-bearing demand accounts; non-interest bearing demand deposits; and certificates of deposit.