Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 28,288 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Popular stake by 19%, selling 28,288 shares and retaining 120,806 shares valued at approximately $18.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 87.27% of BPOP.
• Popular reported quarterly EPS of $4.35, exceeding analysts’ $3.72 estimate, while posting a 15.34% return on equity and a 21.37% net margin.
• The bank raised its quarterly dividend from $0.75 to $0.90 per share, representing a $3.60 annualized payout and a 2.3% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $187.42.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 19.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,806 shares of the bank's stock after selling 28,288 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.19% of Popular worth $18,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Popular during the 3rd quarter worth about $233,000. Curated Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Popular during the third quarter worth about $210,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Popular by 64.5% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 152,222 shares of the bank's stock worth $23,663,000 after purchasing an additional 59,686 shares in the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Popular during the third quarter worth about $312,000. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 15.6% in the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 4,674 shares of the bank's stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $158.89 on Monday. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.74 and a fifty-two week high of $179.24. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $164.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.72. The company has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.63.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.63. Popular had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 21.37%. The business had revenue of $846.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $878.41 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.09 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 15.70 EPS for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a $0.90 dividend. This is a boost from Popular's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BPOP shares. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $198.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Popular in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $163.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of Popular in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Popular from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $187.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Popular news, CEO Javier Ferrer sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.43, for a total transaction of $6,140,050.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 96,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,925,135.54. This represents a 26.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Maria Ferre sold 3,385 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.42, for a total value of $593,796.70. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,781,565.52. The trade was a 25.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,561 shares of company stock valued at $9,392,259. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company's stock.

About Popular

Popular, Inc NASDAQ: BPOP is a financial services company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Founded in 1893, the company provides banking and related financial services primarily through Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, its principal subsidiary, and serves individuals, businesses and institutions.

Its products and services include consumer and commercial deposit accounts, personal and business loans, residential mortgages, credit cards, auto financing, investment and wealth-management services, insurance-related offerings and electronic banking solutions.

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