Panagora Asset Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management boosted its stake in Popular, Inc. by 85.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 312,984 additional shares to bring its total to 680,282 shares worth about $84.7 million.
• Popular reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $3.78 EPS versus the $3.30 consensus estimate, though revenue of $816.1 million came in below expectations.
• The bank declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, implying a $3.00 annualized payout and a 1.9% yield, while analysts overall maintain a Buy consensus with an average target price of $168.73.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 85.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 680,282 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 312,984 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 1.02% of Popular worth $84,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BPOP. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Popular in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new position in Popular in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Popular by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Popular in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Popular in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Price Performance

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $160.95 on Monday. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.56 and a 52 week high of $161.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $148.25 and a 200 day moving average of $136.48.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.48. Popular had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The business had revenue of $816.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 15.14 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Popular's dividend payout ratio is 22.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Popular news, EVP Maria Cristin Gonzalez-Noguera sold 6,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total value of $920,762.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,671,480.05. This represents a 35.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 23,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was 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 owned 34,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,188,200. This trade represents a 39.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,500 shares of company stock worth $4,415,870. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on BPOP shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Popular from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $156.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $155.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $168.73.

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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