Bessemer Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 68.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,593 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 21,107 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Popular were worth $886,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BPOP. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in Popular by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Popular by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Popular by 589.9% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 821 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Crestline Management LP acquired a new stake in Popular during the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in Popular during the 4th quarter worth approximately $224,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.43, for a total value of $52,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,365.72. This represents a 12.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total transaction of $728,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 27,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,851,561.48. The trade was a 20.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.23% of the company’s stock.

Popular Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $110.21 on Tuesday. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.23 and a 52 week high of $111.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $102.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.48. The company has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.62.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.30. Popular had a net margin of 15.82% and a return on equity of 12.22%. The company had revenue of $755.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $760.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. Popular’s payout ratio is 28.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on BPOP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Popular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of Popular from $114.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Popular from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.14.

Popular 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.