Popular, Inc. $BPOP Shares Sold by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,525 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 25,793 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.16% of Popular worth $13,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Popular by 23.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,352 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,715,000 after acquiring an additional 17,729 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Popular during the 1st quarter worth $257,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Popular by 60.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 223,530 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,647,000 after purchasing an additional 84,327 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in Popular in the 1st quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Popular in the 2nd quarter valued at about $252,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $135.36 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.57. Popular, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.23 and a twelve month high of $149.31. The company has a market capitalization of $9.03 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.63.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.36. Popular had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The firm had revenue of $806.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.55 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.51 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 18th. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 24.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Popular from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $152.00 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Credit Suisse Group set a $156.00 price objective on shares of Popular in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of Popular in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $156.55.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 2,360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total value of $312,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 57,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,611,992.50. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Popular 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.