Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 923,442 shares of the bank's stock after selling 47,848 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.33% of Popular worth $85,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BPOP. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Popular by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Popular by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Popular by 589.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 821 shares of the bank's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestline Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter worth approximately $215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $114.22 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $104.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.63. Popular, Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.23 and a 1 year high of $115.16.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $755.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $760.45 million. Popular had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 15.82%. Popular's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on BPOP. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. 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. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Popular from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Hovde Group increased their price objective on Popular from $114.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other Popular news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.43, for a total value of $52,215.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 3,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $376,365.72. This represents a 12.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total value of $728,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,382 shares in the company, valued at $2,851,561.48. This trade represents a 20.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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