Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 289,388 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its stake in Popular, Inc. by 80.2% in the first quarter, selling 289,388 shares and leaving it with 71,587 shares worth about $9.6 million.
• Popular’s latest earnings beat expectations, with Q1 EPS of $3.78 versus the $3.30 consensus, though revenue came in below estimates. Analysts remain largely positive, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $171.18.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, payable July 1, which works out to an annualized yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 22.16%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 80.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,587 shares of the bank's stock after selling 289,388 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.11% of Popular worth $9,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BPOP. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Popular during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Popular by 70.8% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Popular during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BPOP. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Popular from $141.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research downgraded Popular from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group boosted 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded Popular from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Popular from $173.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Popular presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $171.18.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $165.79 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.62. Popular, Inc. has a 1-year low of $108.74 and a 1-year high of $169.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $152.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.77.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $816.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.54 million. Popular had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 14.53%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Popular's payout ratio is currently 22.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Maria Cristin Gonzalez-Noguera sold 6,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total value of $920,762.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,671,480.05. This represents a 35.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 23,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $3,450,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,588 shares in the company, valued at $5,188,200. This represents a 39.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,415,870. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company's stock.

About Popular

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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