Belpointe Asset Management LLC Takes $1.03 Million Position in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• Belpointe Asset Management established a new position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ: BPOP), buying 8,267 shares valued at approximately $1.03 million in Q4, and institutional investors now own about 87.27% of the stock.
• Two directors (Alejandro M. Sanchez and Alejandro M. Ballester) recently sold shares—1,451 and 2,360 shares respectively—reducing insider ownership to roughly 2.13%.
• Popular beat Q earnings estimates with $3.38 EPS, has a market cap near $9.64 billion and a P/E of 12.04, pays a $0.75 quarterly dividend ($3.00 annual, 2.0% yield), and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $161.18 price target.

Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,267 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 262.9% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 352 shares of the bank's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 117.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 540 shares of the bank's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 84.2% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 593 shares of the bank's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 63.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 682 shares of the bank's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other Popular news, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 1,451 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $204,373.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $481,002.75. The trade was a 29.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 2,360 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total transaction of $312,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 57,449 shares in the company, valued at $7,611,992.50. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP opened at $148.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.04, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.59. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $92.07 and a one year high of $150.05. The company's fifty day moving average is $138.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.00.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $806.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.55 million. Popular had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 13.70%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.51 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 18th. Popular's payout ratio is presently 24.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BPOP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $146.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group raised shares of Popular from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $142.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $153.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $135.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.18.

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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