Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Acquires 175,327 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 32.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 723,384 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 175,327 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 1.01% of Popular worth $68,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BPOP. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Popular during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in Popular by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Popular by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Popular during the fourth quarter valued at about $166,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BPOP. Hovde Group dropped their target price on shares of Popular from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $125.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Popular presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.14.

Popular Price Performance

BPOP traded up $0.09 on Wednesday, hitting $104.16. The company had a trading volume of 37,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 495,445. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.23 and a 52-week high of $106.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.60.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.30. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The business had revenue of $755.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $760.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. Popular's dividend payout ratio is 28.90%.

About Popular

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.