Penn Capital Management Company LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Penn Capital Management Company LLC cut its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 130,380 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 13,323 shares during the quarter. Popular makes up approximately 1.3% of Penn Capital Management Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Penn Capital Management Company LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $16,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Popular by 23.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,352 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,715,000 after buying an additional 17,729 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Popular during the first quarter worth about $257,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Popular by 60.6% in 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. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $252,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 2,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total transaction of $312,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 57,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,611,992.50. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 1,451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total value of $204,373.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $481,002.75. The trade was a 29.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Popular Price Performance

BPOP stock opened at $131.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.61. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.23 and a 12 month high of $149.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.58.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.36. Popular had a return on equity of 13.70% and a net margin of 18.75%.The business had revenue of $806.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of Popular in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Popular from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Popular in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Popular from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $152.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Popular presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.55.

Popular 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.