Headlands Technologies LLC Lowers Stake in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Headlands Technologies LLC cut its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 67.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,592 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 5,414 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $426,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 187,671 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,369,000 after buying an additional 17,148 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Popular by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,405,575 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $175,057,000 after acquiring an additional 64,778 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Popular by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 465,720 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,486,000 after acquiring an additional 35,226 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Popular during the 4th quarter worth approximately $104,955,000. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new stake in Popular during the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,841,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of BPOP opened at $171.33 on Friday. Popular, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.74 and a twelve month high of $179.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $171.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.60.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $846.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $878.41 million. Popular had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 21.37%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 15.72 EPS for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Insider Activity

In other Popular news, VP Adorno Rodriguez sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total value of $101,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $420,624.68. This trade represents a 19.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Maria Ferre sold 3,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.42, for a total transaction of $593,796.70. Following the sale, the director owned 10,156 shares in the company, valued at $1,781,565.52. The trade was a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 53,561 shares of company stock valued at $9,392,259 over the last three months. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on BPOP shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Popular from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial increased their price target on Popular from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $178.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Popular has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.08.

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.