Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Stake in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 77.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 360,975 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 157,863 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.54% of Popular worth $44,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Popular by 262.9% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 352 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Popular by 117.7% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 540 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Popular by 84.2% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 593 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 63.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 682 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 1,451 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $204,373.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,415 shares in the company, valued at $481,002.75. This represents a 29.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 2,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Popular Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $133.09 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $135.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.76. The company has a market cap of $8.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.61. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.23 and a 12 month high of $149.31.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.36. Popular had a return on equity of 13.70% and a net margin of 18.75%.The company had revenue of $806.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.55 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.51 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 18th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BPOP. Bank of America upgraded Popular from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Truist Financial increased their target price on Popular from $153.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Credit Suisse Group set a $156.00 price target on Popular in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Popular from $146.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $142.00 price objective on shares of Popular in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $156.55.

Popular Company 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.