Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Sold by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,447,685 shares of the bank's stock after selling 7,340 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 2.03% of Popular worth $136,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Popular in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 56.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Popular by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the third quarter worth $81,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Popular during the fourth quarter valued at $166,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Popular Trading Up 1.1%

BPOP traded up $1.15 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $104.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 114,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 494,122. Popular, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.23 and a twelve month high of $112.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.60. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $90.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.34.

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

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Popular's payout ratio is currently 28.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on BPOP. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $125.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.14.

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.