KBC Group NV Sells 1,704 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

KBC Group NV reduced its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 51.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,602 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,704 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Popular were worth $177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Popular by 52.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,432,599 shares of the bank’s stock worth $129,722,000 after purchasing an additional 495,325 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in Popular during the first quarter worth $10,122,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Popular by 136.1% during the first quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 169,183 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,627,000 after buying an additional 97,531 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 216.0% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 128,259 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,846,000 after buying an additional 87,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 60.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 223,530 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,647,000 after buying an additional 84,327 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 18,001 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.47, for a total value of $2,240,584.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,083,495.31. The trade was a 42.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Popular Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of BPOP opened at $113.78 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $119.47 and a 200 day moving average of $114.54. The company has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.72. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.23 and a 12 month high of $129.32.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $3.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.10. Popular had a return on equity of 13.46% and a net margin of 17.63%.The firm had revenue of $720.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $803.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Popular’s payout ratio is 26.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BPOP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Popular in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Popular from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Popular in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Popular from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.56.

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.