Macquarie Group Ltd. Raises Stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP – Get Rating) by 517.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,999 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 11,730 shares during the quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd.’s holdings in Popular were worth $1,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BPOP. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Popular by 98.7% in the third quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 44,706 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,222,000 after purchasing an additional 22,202 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Popular by 156.7% in the third quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 137,925 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,939,000 after purchasing an additional 84,200 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in Popular by 179.3% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 431,868 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,120,000 after purchasing an additional 277,251 shares during the period. AXA S.A. grew its holdings in Popular by 53.3% in the third quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 207,625 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,962,000 after purchasing an additional 72,200 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Popular by 225.3% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 70,672 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,151,000 after purchasing an additional 48,949 shares during the period. 86.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of BPOP stock opened at $61.03 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.65. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.01 and a fifty-two week high of $86.84. The stock has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.85.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The bank reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.81. Popular had a net margin of 32.75% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The business had revenue of $559.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $730.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 17th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Popular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Popular from $80.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Popular from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Popular from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Popular to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.80.

About Popular

(Get Rating)

Popular, Inc operates as a holding company. The firm engages in the provision of banking and financial services. It operates through the following segments: Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, Popular U.S., and Corporate Group. The Banco Popular de Puerto Rico segment includes commercial banking, consumer and retail banking, and other financial services.