Popular, Inc. $BPOP Shares Acquired by UBS Group AG

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in Popular, Inc. by 28.1% in Q4 to 540,646 shares (a 0.81% ownership) valued at about $67.3 million.
• Popular beat earnings estimates with $3.78 EPS vs. $3.30 expected while reporting $822.6 million in revenue (below the $866.5 million estimate), and delivered a 14.65% return on equity and a 20.10% net margin.
• Wall Street is broadly positive—11 Buys and 1 Hold—with a consensus "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $168.73 versus the recent price near $148, implying upside for the stock.

UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 28.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 540,646 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 118,496 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned 0.81% of Popular worth $67,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 23.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,352 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,715,000 after purchasing an additional 17,729 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the first quarter valued at about $257,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 60.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 223,530 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,647,000 after purchasing an additional 84,327 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the first quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the second quarter valued at about $252,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Popular Stock Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $148.04 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $138.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.11. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $97.08 and a 52 week high of $152.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.63.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.30 by $0.48. Popular had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 20.10%.The company had revenue of $822.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $866.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.56 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 18th. Popular's dividend payout ratio is 22.16%.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other Popular news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 23,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $3,450,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 34,588 shares in the company, valued at $5,188,200. This trade represents a 39.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Cristin Gonzalez-Noguera sold 6,200 shares of the firm'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 sale, the executive vice president owned 11,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,671,480.05. This represents a 35.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,651 shares of company stock valued at $4,575,135. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Popular in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Popular from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on Popular from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on Popular from $153.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Popular from $155.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.73.

Popular Profile

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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