Vanguard Group Inc. Has $1.06 Billion Position in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• Vanguard raised its stake to 8,489,936 shares of Popular (12.73% ownership), a position valued at about $1.06 billion after buying 37,424 shares in Q4.
• Popular reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the $3.30 consensus while revenue of $822.6 million missed the $866.5 million estimate; analysts expect roughly 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company pays a $0.75 quarterly dividend ($3.00 annual, ~2.0% yield, 22.2% payout ratio) and carries a "Moderate Buy" analyst consensus with an average price target of about $168.73.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,489,936 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 37,424 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.73% of Popular worth $1,057,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Popular by 140.1% in the third quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 45,170 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,737,000 after buying an additional 26,354 shares during the period. Ceeto Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Popular in the third quarter valued at $29,115,000. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in Popular by 68.6% in the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 17,309 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 7,043 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. bought a new stake in Popular in the third quarter valued at $653,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Popular by 112.1% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 44,616 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,620,000 after purchasing an additional 23,584 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Price Performance

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $149.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $138.97 and a 200-day moving average of $129.02. The company has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.03, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.63. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $96.61 and a one year high of $152.95.

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

Popular Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BPOP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $153.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $156.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Popular from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Popular from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $156.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $168.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 23,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $3,450,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 34,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,188,200. The trade was a 39.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 1,451 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $204,373.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $481,002.75. The trade was a 29.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 2.13% of the company's stock.

Popular Company 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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