Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 569,289 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,452,512 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 569,289 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.51% of Popular worth $1,073,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BPOP. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Popular by 2,158.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 384 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Popular by 262.9% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 352 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Popular by 84.2% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 593 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Popular by 63.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 682 shares of the bank’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Popular by 63.6% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,515 shares of the bank’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Stock Up 2.6%

Popular stock opened at $147.56 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $131.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.74. The company has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.63. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.23 and a 52 week high of $149.31.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.36. Popular had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The company had revenue of $815.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.55 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.51 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard L. Carrion sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.50, for a total transaction of $2,837,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 193,020 shares in the company, valued at $21,907,770. The trade was a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 2,360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total value of $312,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 57,449 shares in the company, valued at $7,611,992.50. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Popular from $144.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Popular from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Popular in a report on Thursday, January 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $152.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $153.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.73.

Popular Company Profile

Popular, Inc, headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a financial holding company and a leading provider of banking services in the United States mainland and Puerto Rico. Through its primary subsidiaries—Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and Popular Bank—the company delivers comprehensive commercial and consumer banking solutions. It offers deposit products, lending facilities, cash management services and payment-processing solutions designed for individuals, small businesses and large corporations.

The company’s product suite encompasses checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial mortgage loans, business lines of credit and credit cards.