Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $4.69 Million in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has acquired a new position in Popular, Inc. by purchasing 50,745 shares, valued at approximately $4.69 million, representing a 0.07% ownership in the company.
• Popular, Inc. reported a robust earnings performance with an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.09, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.60, and a net revenue of $800.03 million for the quarter.
• The bank announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $2.80 and a yield of 2.5%, with a payout ratio of 27.13%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 50,745 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $4,687,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Popular as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,418,729 shares of the bank's stock worth $133,446,000 after acquiring an additional 515,798 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,312,952 shares of the bank's stock valued at $123,496,000 after purchasing an additional 459,231 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Popular by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,192,769 shares of the bank's stock valued at $394,373,000 after buying an additional 201,067 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 723,384 shares of the bank's stock worth $68,041,000 after buying an additional 175,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter worth $11,990,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total transaction of $728,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 27,382 shares in the company, valued at $2,851,561.48. The trade was a 20.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.43, for a total transaction of $52,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,604 shares in the company, valued at $376,365.72. This represents a 12.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of Popular stock traded up $1.87 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $115.06. The company had a trading volume of 419,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,217. The stock has a market cap of $7.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.65. Popular, Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.23 and a 1-year high of $118.54. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $109.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.49. Popular had a net margin of 16.49% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The business had revenue of $800.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $777.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Popular's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on BPOP shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Popular from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Hovde Group upped their target price on Popular from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Popular in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on Popular from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Popular from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Popular has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $128.88.

About Popular

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.