Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 21,107 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 68.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,593 shares of the bank's stock after selling 21,107 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Popular were worth $886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Popular in the 4th quarter worth $79,842,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,418,729 shares of the bank's stock worth $133,446,000 after purchasing an additional 515,798 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Popular by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,312,952 shares of the bank's stock worth $123,496,000 after purchasing an additional 459,231 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Popular by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,192,769 shares of the bank's stock worth $394,373,000 after purchasing an additional 201,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Popular by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 723,384 shares of the bank's stock valued at $68,041,000 after purchasing an additional 175,327 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $114.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.14.

Popular Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $114.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 479,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 535,924. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $104.01 and a 200-day moving average of $97.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.63. Popular, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.23 and a 12-month high of $115.16.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.30. Popular had a net margin of 15.82% and a return on equity of 12.22%. The business had revenue of $755.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $760.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. Popular's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 29th. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.43, for a total transaction of $52,215.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 3,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $376,365.72. This trade represents a 12.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total transaction of $728,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 27,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,851,561.48. The trade was a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Popular Company Profile

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.