PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Acquires 438 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 33.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,749 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 438 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Popular were worth $162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BPOP. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Popular by 589.9% during the 1st 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 period. Crestline Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter valued at $215,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter valued at $227,000. Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Popular during the 4th quarter worth $261,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of Popular by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 2,783 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BPOP. Hovde Group increased their target price on Popular from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Popular in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Popular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Popular from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.88.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of BPOP stock opened at $118.21 on Tuesday. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.23 and a 52-week high of $119.54. The stock has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $112.31 and its 200-day moving average is $101.93.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.49. Popular had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 16.49%. The firm had revenue of $800.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $777.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total value of $728,980.00. Following the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.23% 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.