Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $4.69 Million Position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 50,745 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $4,687,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 589.9% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 821 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. Crestline Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter valued at about $215,000. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter valued at about $227,000. Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new stake in Popular during the fourth quarter worth about $246,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Popular by 25.4% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 2,783 shares of the bank’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on BPOP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays raised their target price on Popular from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on Popular from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group raised their target price on Popular from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Popular currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total value of $728,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade represents a 12.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Popular Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of BPOP stock opened at $113.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $109.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.78. Popular, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.23 and a 12-month high of $118.54.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $800.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.38 million. Popular had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 16.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.13%.

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.