Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 77,111 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Popular, Inc. by 139.2% in Q2, acquiring an additional 77,111 shares and totaling approximately 0.19% ownership valued at $14.6 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have raised their positions in Popular, with institutional investors now controlling 87.27% of the stock.
• Recent analyst ratings for Popular include a consensus "Buy" with target prices ranging from $130.13 to $150.00, indicating positive sentiment in the market.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 139.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 132,525 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 77,111 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.19% of Popular worth $14,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Popular by 61.5% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,795 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,263,000 after buying an additional 7,539 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Popular during the 2nd quarter valued at $252,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Popular by 8.9% during the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,848 shares of the bank's stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Popular by 59.9% during the second quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the bank's stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Popular by 287.0% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 80,210 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,409,000 after buying an additional 59,482 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BPOP shares. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on Popular from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Popular from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In related news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 18,001 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.47, for a total transaction of $2,240,584.47. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,083,495.31. This trade represents a 42.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Popular Price Performance

BPOP stock opened at $126.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $119.80 and a 200 day moving average of $106.02. The company has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.68. Popular, Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.23 and a 1 year high of $128.89.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $800.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.38 million. Popular had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 16.49%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.1328 per share. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.07%.

About Popular

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.

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