Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 199,784 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its stake in Popular, Inc. by 33.7% in the first quarter, selling 199,784 shares and ending with 392,468 shares worth about $52.7 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with Benchmark upgrading Popular to strong-buy and several other firms raising price targets; the consensus rating is still Buy with a $177.83 target.
• Popular posted solid recent results, beating quarterly EPS estimates at $3.78, while also paying a $0.75 quarterly dividend that translates to a 1.7% yield.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 33.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 392,468 shares of the bank's stock after selling 199,784 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.60% of Popular worth $52,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Popular by 23.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Popular in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Popular by 60.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 223,530 shares of the bank's stock worth $20,647,000 after acquiring an additional 84,327 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake 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 worth approximately $252,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Key Popular News

Here are the key news stories impacting Popular this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark upgraded Popular, Inc. (BPOP) to strong-buy, which can boost investor confidence ahead of earnings and suggests Wall Street sees additional upside from current levels.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage from Zacks says Popular (BPOP) reports next week and that Wall Street expects earnings growth, but the setup does not look especially favorable for a clear earnings beat, keeping expectations balanced going into the release. Popular (BPOP) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Another brief note says Popular (BPOP) is expected to post earnings on Thursday, reinforcing that the stock is trading on pre-earnings anticipation rather than a new fundamental announcement. Popular (BPOP) Expected to Post Earnings on Thursday

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 23,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $3,450,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 34,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,188,200. The trade was a 39.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Cristin Gonzalez-Noguera sold 6,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total transaction of $920,762.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,671,480.05. This trade represents a 35.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 29,500 shares of company stock worth $4,415,870 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BPOP shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Popular from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Popular from $141.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Popular from $155.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Popular from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $177.83.

Popular Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $171.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.61. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.74 and a 12 month high of $174.69. The company's 50-day moving average price is $158.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.42.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $816.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.54 million. Popular had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 14.53%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 15.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Popular's dividend payout ratio is 22.16%.

About Popular

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.

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