Swiss National Bank Sells 4,100 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in Popular, Inc. by 2.9%, selling 4,100 shares and maintaining ownership of 138,200 shares valued at approximately $12.77 million.
• Popular, Inc. reported an earnings per share of $3.09 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.49, with a revenue of $800.03 million.
• Analysts have adjusted their price targets for Popular, with Citigroup increasing its projection from $133.00 to $142.00, giving it a "buy" rating.

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 138,200 shares of the bank's stock after selling 4,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.20% of Popular worth $12,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BPOP. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Popular by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 7,245 shares of the bank's stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Popular during the fourth quarter worth about $3,034,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in Popular by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 31,357 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Popular by 51.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,031 shares of the bank's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Popular by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,556 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,390,000 after purchasing an additional 18,457 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Popular Trading Up 0.3%

Popular stock opened at $119.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.06 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.65. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.23 and a 12 month high of $119.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $111.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.74.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $800.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.38 million. Popular had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 16.49%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on BPOP. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Popular in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Popular in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $128.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Popular news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total value of $728,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 27,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,851,561.48. This trade represents a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

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.

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