The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Position in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its Popular stake by 2.9%, selling 10,621 shares and retaining 355,694 shares valued at approximately $47.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 87.27% of BPOP.
• Popular reported quarterly EPS of $4.35, beating analysts’ $3.72 estimate, although revenue of $846.9 million was below the $878.4 million consensus. The bank also maintains a $0.75 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.7% yield.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with the stock carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $184.42; recent targets range from $180 to $207.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 355,694 shares of the bank's stock after selling 10,621 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.55% of Popular worth $47,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Popular during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in Popular in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Popular in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Popular in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Popular Price Performance

BPOP stock opened at $175.13 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.42. The stock has a market cap of $11.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.61. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $108.74 and a one year high of $176.51.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.63. Popular had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The firm had revenue of $846.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $878.41 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.09 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 15.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BPOP shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research downgraded Popular from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Popular from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Popular from $178.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Popular from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $184.42.

Key Popular News

Here are the key news stories impacting Popular this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Favorable momentum profile: Zacks identifies BPOP as a top-ranked momentum stock, highlighting its recent price strength and potential for continued market outperformance. Popular BPOP is a Top-Ranked Momentum Stock: Should You Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Value appeal: A separate Zacks analysis classifies Popular as a strong value stock, which may attract investors given its relatively low valuation, including a price-to-earnings ratio of approximately 11.8 and a PEG ratio below 1. Here's Why Popular BPOP is a Strong Value Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings beat: Popular reported quarterly earnings of $4.35 per share, well above the $3.72 analyst consensus and up from $3.09 a year earlier. Its 15.47% return on equity and 21.37% net margin also indicate solid profitability.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed quarterly revenue: Revenue of $846.9 million fell short of the $878.4 million consensus estimate, limiting the strength of the earnings-related catalyst. Analysts nevertheless expect approximately $15.72 in full-year earnings per share.
• Neutral Sentiment: Limited company-specific news: The other articles in the supplied news flow concern unrelated companies, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, or general-interest topics and do not appear to affect BPOP directly.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Popular news, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 300 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.36, for a total transaction of $45,108.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at $595,425.60. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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