J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. Purchases 7,853 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Popular, Inc. by 284.2% in the first quarter, buying 7,853 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 10,616 shares worth about $1.42 million.
• Popular reported better-than-expected earnings of $3.78 per share for the quarter, though revenue came in below analyst estimates. The company also posted solid profitability metrics, including a 14.53% return on equity.
• The bank announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, or $3.00 annualized, which implies a 1.8% yield. Meanwhile, analysts remain mostly bullish, with an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $171.18.

J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. increased its position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 284.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,616 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 7,853 shares during the period. J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Popular were worth $1,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new position in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 70.8% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Popular during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other news, EVP Maria Cristin Gonzalez-Noguera sold 6,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total transaction of $920,762.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,671,480.05. The trade was a 35.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.36, for a total value of $45,108.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at $595,425.60. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,415,870. Insiders own 2.13% of the company's stock.

Popular Stock Performance

Popular stock opened at $165.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.62. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $108.74 and a one year high of $169.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $152.15 and a 200 day moving average of $139.61.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.48. Popular had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 20.10%.The business had revenue of $816.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $866.54 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 15.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on BPOP. Barclays lifted their price objective on Popular from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Popular from $135.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Popular from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $173.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $171.18.

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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