Cwm LLC Trims Stake in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• Cwm LLC cut its stake in Popular, Inc. by 32.1% in Q4 to 44,172 shares (about $5.5M), while hedge funds and other institutions collectively own 87.27% of the stock.
• Two directors sold shares recently—Alejandro M. Ballester sold 2,360 shares and Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 1,451 shares—reducing insider ownership to 2.13%.
• Popular beat Q4 EPS estimates ($3.38 vs. $3.02) despite slightly weaker revenue, pays a quarterly dividend of $0.75 (2.0% yield), and carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $161.18.

Cwm LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 32.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,172 shares of the bank's stock after selling 20,860 shares during the period. Cwm LLC owned about 0.07% of Popular worth $5,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Popular during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Popular by 262.9% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 352 shares of the bank's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Popular by 117.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 540 shares of the bank's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Popular by 84.2% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 593 shares of the bank's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Popular by 63.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 682 shares of the bank's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $148.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $138.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.85. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.61 and a fifty-two week high of $150.05. The firm has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.59.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.36. Popular had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 13.70%. The firm had revenue of $806.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.51 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on BPOP. Zacks Research lowered shares of Popular from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Popular from $153.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Popular from $146.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $152.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Popular from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Popular currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $161.18.

Popular Profile

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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