The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 40,243 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in Popular, Inc. by 10.1% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 357,858 shares valued at $33,055,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Versant Capital Management Inc., have significantly increased their positions in Popular, contributing to institutional ownership of 87.27% of the stock.
• Popular, Inc. announced an increased quarterly dividend from $0.70 to $0.75 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.4%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 357,858 shares of the bank's stock after selling 40,243 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.52% of Popular worth $33,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Popular by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 535,540 shares of the bank's stock valued at $50,373,000 after buying an additional 63,019 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Popular by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 28,521 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,683,000 after acquiring an additional 12,107 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,164 shares of the bank's stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Crestline Management LP bought a new stake in Popular in the fourth quarter worth $215,000. Finally, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC lifted its position in Popular by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 988,777 shares of the bank's stock valued at $93,004,000 after purchasing an additional 23,214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 18,001 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.47, for a total value of $2,240,584.47. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,773 shares in the company, valued at $3,083,495.31. The trade was a 42.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on BPOP. Zacks Research raised Popular from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Popular in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Popular in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Popular presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $128.88.

Popular Stock Performance

BPOP stock traded down $1.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $125.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 536,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 563,990. Popular, Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.23 and a 1 year high of $128.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.80.

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

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.1328 dividend. Popular's payout ratio is 27.13%.

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.