Danske Bank A S Sells 11,029 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• Danske Bank A S slashed its stake in Popular by 94.8% in Q4, selling 11,029 shares and leaving it with 600 shares valued at about $75,000 at quarter-end.
• Company insiders have sold a total of 30,651 shares (~$4.58M) in the last three months, including Director Alejandro M. Ballester’s 23,000-share sale, reducing insider ownership to 2.13%.
• Popular beat EPS estimates at $3.78 vs. $3.30 but missed revenue expectations, recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.75 (annualized $3.00, ~2.0% yield), and carries a consensus analyst "Buy" with an average price target of $168.73.

Danske Bank A S decreased its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 94.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 600 shares of the bank's stock after selling 11,029 shares during the quarter. Danske Bank A S's holdings in Popular were worth $75,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BPOP. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the third quarter worth $31,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Popular by 117.7% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 540 shares of the bank's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 84.2% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 593 shares of the bank's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter worth $83,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 63.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 682 shares of the bank's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 1,451 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $204,373.35. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $481,002.75. This represents a 29.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 23,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 34,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,188,200. This trade represents a 39.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,651 shares of company stock valued at $4,575,135. 2.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Popular Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of BPOP opened at $148.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.63. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $139.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.80. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $152.95.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $822.63 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 14.65%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 15.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 18th. Popular's dividend payout ratio is 22.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Credit Suisse Group set a $156.00 price objective on shares of Popular in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Popular from $156.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Popular from $141.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Popular from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Popular from $135.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $168.73.

Popular Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.