Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Sells 9,650 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. decreased its stake in Popular, Inc. by 1.3%, selling 9,650 shares and owning about 1.03% of the company worth approximately $65.9 million.
• Popular, Inc. has seen significant investor activity, with Northern Trust Corp increasing its position by 13.3% and Ensign Peak Advisors Inc. raising its stake by 38.6% in the fourth quarter.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Popular, with Citigroup increasing their target from $133 to $142, contributing to a consensus rating of "Buy" and a target price of $128.88.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lowered its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 713,734 shares of the bank's stock after selling 9,650 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 1.03% of Popular worth $65,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in Popular during the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 589.9% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 821 shares of the bank's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the 1st quarter worth approximately $84,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the bank's stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Finally, Crestline Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 18,001 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.47, for a total value of $2,240,584.47. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,773 shares in the company, valued at $3,083,495.31. This represents a 42.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.23% of the company's stock.

Popular Stock Down 1.0%

BPOP traded down $1.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $124.18. 456,542 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 563,538. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.68. The company's fifty day moving average price is $117.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.10. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.23 and a 52-week high of $128.66.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $800.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $777.38 million. Popular had a net margin of 16.49% and a return on equity of 12.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.1328 per share. Popular's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BPOP shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Popular in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on Popular from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Popular in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Popular from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Popular presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $128.88.

Popular 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.