AQR Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Popular, Inc. by 52.8%, owning 1,432,599 shares valued at approximately $129.72 million after purchasing an additional 495,325 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors have also raised their positions in Popular, contributing to a total institutional ownership of 87.27% of the company's stock.
• Popular's recent earnings report disclosed an EPS of $3.09, exceeding analyst expectations, with projected earnings per share of 10.06 for the current year.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 52.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,432,599 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 495,325 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 2.07% of Popular worth $129,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Popular by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 87,106 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,046,000 after acquiring an additional 8,262 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Popular by 164.7% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 15,731 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 9,788 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 14,449 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,335,000 after buying an additional 4,818 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 105.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,256 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,132,000 after buying an additional 6,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Popular by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,309 shares of the bank's stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BPOP has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Popular from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Popular from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Popular currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 18,001 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.47, for a total transaction of $2,240,584.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,083,495.31. This trade represents a 42.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.23% of the company's stock.

Popular Trading Up 0.5%

BPOP traded up $0.64 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $124.82. 63,375 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 560,594. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $117.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.24. Popular, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.23 and a 12-month high of $128.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.68.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.49. Popular had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 16.49%.The business had revenue of $800.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.38 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.1328 per share. Popular's dividend payout ratio is 29.07%.

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.