Jacobs Asset Management LLC Has $12.93 Million Stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Jacobs Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 44.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,500 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,500 shares during the period. Popular accounts for approximately 7.8% of Jacobs Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Jacobs Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $12,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,239 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in Popular by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,953 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Popular by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 31,357 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,949,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,709 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,888,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of Popular stock opened at $100.31 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.60. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.23 and a 52-week high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.30. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The company had revenue of $755.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $760.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 28.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BPOP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Hovde Group decreased their price target on shares of Popular from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Popular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.14.

Popular Company 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.