Popular, Inc. $BPOP Shares Sold by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC cut its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 85.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,866 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 59,308 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $1,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Popular by 2.5% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,597 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its position in shares of Popular by 0.6% during the third quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 17,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC increased its position in shares of Popular by 1.3% during the second quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 9,579 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Popular by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,267 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,115,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Popular by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,613 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 1,451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 3,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $481,002.75. The trade was a 29.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 2,360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total transaction of $312,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 57,449 shares in the company, valued at $7,611,992.50. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Up 1.6%

Popular stock opened at $130.87 on Friday. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.23 and a 52-week high of $149.31. The firm has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $134.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.43.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $806.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.55 million. Popular had a return on equity of 13.70% and a net margin of 18.75%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BPOP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $146.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Popular in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $152.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Popular from $153.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Popular from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $156.55.

About Popular

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.