Boston Partners Cuts Stock Holdings in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Boston Partners trimmed its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 51.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,970 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 7,503 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Popular were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Popular by 589.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 821 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Popular by 33.4% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Crestline Management LP purchased a new stake in Popular during the fourth quarter valued at about $215,000. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Popular during the fourth quarter valued at about $227,000. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Popular during the fourth quarter valued at about $261,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of BPOP opened at $118.00 on Monday. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $78.23 and a one year high of $119.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.65.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.49. Popular had a net margin of 16.49% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $800.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $777.38 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Popular news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,382 shares in the company, valued at $2,851,561.48. This trade represents a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Popular from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of Popular from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Popular in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Popular from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.88.

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.