KBC Group NV Sells 34,469 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

KBC Group NV decreased its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 91.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,306 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 34,469 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Popular were worth $305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in Popular by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Popular by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Popular by 589.9% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 821 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestline Management LP bought a new position in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter worth approximately $215,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BPOP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Popular in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Hovde Group boosted their price target on Popular from $114.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Popular from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Popular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.14.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of Popular stock opened at $114.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $104.37 and its 200 day moving average is $97.97. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $78.23 and a one year high of $115.16.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $755.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $760.45 million. Popular had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 15.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total value of $728,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,851,561.48. This represents a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.43, for a total value of $52,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 3,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,365.72. The trade was a 12.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Popular Company 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.