Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Reduces Position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust trimmed its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 69.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,972 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 93,455 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust’s holdings in Popular were worth $3,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BPOP. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Popular during the second quarter valued at about $2,283,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Popular by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,227 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,789,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Popular by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 265,628 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,489,000 after acquiring an additional 1,324 shares during the period. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in Popular by 31.2% in the 2nd quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 187,343 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,567,000 after acquiring an additional 44,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in Popular by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 24,118 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In related news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 5,917 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.60, for a total value of $577,499.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,920,387.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BPOP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Popular in a research note on Monday, August 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Popular from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 target price (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Popular in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Popular from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Popular has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.00.

Popular Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $96.78 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $96.86 and its 200 day moving average is $89.86. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $105.01. The company has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.78.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.38. Popular had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 12.20%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $751.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 36.80%.

About Popular

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.