Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $24.48 Million Stock Position in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management more than doubled its Popular stake in the second quarter, acquiring 77,507 additional shares and bringing its holding to 149,094 shares valued at approximately $24.48 million. Institutional investors collectively own 87.27% of the bank.
• Popular reported quarterly EPS of $4.35, exceeding the $3.72 consensus estimate, while revenue of $846.92 million fell short of forecasts. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $185.25.
• Popular shares opened at $174.04, near their 12-month high of $179.00, and have risen above both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Insiders, however, have sold 15,261 shares worth about $2.67 million over the past 90 days.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 108.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 149,094 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 77,507 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.23% of Popular worth $24,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Popular by 56.2% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,962,871 shares of the bank's stock valued at $376,314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,452 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter worth approximately $104,955,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Popular by 85.2% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 680,282 shares of the bank's stock valued at $84,709,000 after buying an additional 312,984 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Popular by 2,752.6% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 312,447 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,684,000 after acquiring an additional 301,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new stake in Popular during the 4th quarter worth $24,841,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Stock Performance

BPOP opened at $174.04 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $165.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.46. The firm has a market cap of $11.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.61. Popular, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.74 and a twelve month high of $179.00.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.63. Popular had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The company had revenue of $846.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $878.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.09 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 15.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $198.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Popular in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Popular from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Popular from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on Popular from $178.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of Popular in a report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $185.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maria Luisa Ferre sold 3,385 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.42, for a total transaction of $593,796.70. Following the sale, the director owned 10,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,781,565.52. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 300 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.36, for a total value of $45,108.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,960 shares in the company, valued at $595,425.60. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,261 shares of company stock worth $2,672,543. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company's stock.

Popular 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.

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