Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 18,721 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC increased its stake in Popular, Inc. by 33.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 18,721 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 74,594 shares worth about $9.33 million.
• Several analysts turned more positive on BPOP, with firms including RBC, Barclays, Citigroup, and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifting price targets; the consensus rating is now Buy with an average target of $171.18.
• Popular reported strong quarterly earnings of $3.78 per share, beating estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, equivalent to a 1.8% annual yield.

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 33.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,594 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 18,721 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.11% of Popular worth $9,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Popular by 23.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,352 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,715,000 after acquiring an additional 17,729 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Popular in the 1st quarter worth about $257,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 60.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 223,530 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,647,000 after purchasing an additional 84,327 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the 1st quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Popular during the 2nd quarter valued at about $252,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Stock Performance

BPOP stock opened at $165.79 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $152.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.61. The company has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.62. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.74 and a fifty-two week high of $169.14.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.30 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $816.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $866.54 million. Popular had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 20.10%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 15.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Popular

In other Popular news, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.36, for a total transaction of $45,108.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $595,425.60. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $3,450,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 34,588 shares in the company, valued at $5,188,200. This trade represents a 39.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,415,870. 2.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BPOP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Popular from $178.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Popular from $155.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $135.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Popular from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Popular has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.18.

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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