Nomura Holdings Inc. Purchases New Position in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 32,045 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,532,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Popular in the second quarter worth approximately $93,578,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Popular by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,432,599 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $129,722,000 after buying an additional 495,325 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Popular by 9,769.4% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 268,448 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,586,000 after buying an additional 265,728 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 363.4% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 228,028 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,131,000 after acquiring an additional 178,820 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Popular by 135.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 258,265 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,463,000 after purchasing an additional 148,682 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ BPOP opened at $122.58 on Tuesday. Popular, Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.23 and a 1-year high of $129.32. The company has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $116.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.37.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $3.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.10. Popular had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.63%.The business had revenue of $720.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $803.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. Popular’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on BPOP shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Popular in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of Popular from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $153.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Popular from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Popular presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.56.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other news, Director Richard L. Carrion sold 25,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.50, for a total value of $2,837,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 193,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,907,770. The trade was a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.84, for a total value of $114,840.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $299,043.36. This trade represents a 27.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company 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.