Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Popular, Inc. by 18.2%, selling 6,501 shares and leaving them with 29,311 shares valued at $2,707,000.
• Popular, Inc. reported $3.09 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates of $2.60, alongside revenues of $800.03 million, which also surpassed projections.
• The company has seen several investment analysts raise their price targets for its shares, with Piper Sandler increasing the target from $110 to $123 and Citigroup raising it from $133 to $142.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 18.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,311 shares of the bank's stock after selling 6,501 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Popular were worth $2,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BPOP. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Popular by 589.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 821 shares of the bank's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Crestline Management LP bought a new position in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter valued at $215,000. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new position in Popular in the 4th quarter worth about $246,000. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Popular in the 4th quarter worth about $261,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on BPOP. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of Popular from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their target price on Popular from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, 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 note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.88.

Popular Trading Up 0.8%

BPOP stock traded up $0.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $115.33. The stock had a trading volume of 491,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 509,399. The firm has a market cap of $7.90 billion, a PE ratio of 11.18, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.63. The stock's 50 day moving average is $108.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.14. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.23 and a 52 week high of $118.54.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $800.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $777.38 million. Popular had a net margin of 16.49% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Popular's payout ratio is 27.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other Popular 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 27,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,851,561.48. The trade was a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $376,365.72. The trade was a 12.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

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.