Paragon Capital Management Ltd Makes New $241,000 Investment in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• Paragon Capital Management Ltd has acquired a new stake in Popular, Inc. valued at approximately $241,000 during the second quarter.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Popular, Inc., with AQR Capital Management raising their stake by 52.8% and acquiring over 495,000 shares.
• Popular, Inc. was rated as a "strong-buy" by Zacks Research, with multiple analysts providing price target upgrades, some reaching $150.00.

Paragon Capital Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,189 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Popular by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,432,599 shares of the bank's stock valued at $129,722,000 after acquiring an additional 495,325 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the first quarter worth $10,122,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Popular by 136.1% in the first quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 169,183 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,627,000 after purchasing an additional 97,531 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Popular by 216.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 128,259 shares of the bank's stock valued at $11,846,000 after buying an additional 87,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the first quarter worth about $7,905,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BPOP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Popular from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Popular from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Popular from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Popular has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $130.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 18,001 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.47, for a total transaction of $2,240,584.47. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,083,495.31. This represents a 42.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $128.04 on Friday. Popular, Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.23 and a 1 year high of $129.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.68. The business's 50 day moving average price is $120.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.86.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $800.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.38 million. Popular had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 16.49%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.1328 dividend. Popular's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

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.

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