Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 116,311 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stock position in Popular, Inc. by 1.3%, owning 9,170,521 shares valued at approximately $847 million as of the end of the last quarter.
• In the first quarter, multiple institutional investors such as Fourth Sail Capital LP and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased their holdings in Popular, highlighting ongoing interest from hedge funds.
• Popular, Inc. reported earnings per share of $3.09 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates, and has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from research analysts.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,170,521 shares of the bank's stock after selling 116,311 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 13.23% of Popular worth $847,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,192,769 shares of the bank's stock worth $394,373,000 after purchasing an additional 201,067 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Popular by 4.7% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,485,141 shares of the bank's stock worth $137,182,000 after acquiring an additional 66,412 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Popular by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,312,952 shares of the bank's stock worth $123,496,000 after acquiring an additional 459,231 shares in the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Popular by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 988,777 shares of the bank's stock worth $93,004,000 after acquiring an additional 23,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Popular by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 937,274 shares of the bank's stock worth $88,160,000 after acquiring an additional 24,842 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Popular in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment 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 a consensus price target of $128.88.

Popular Stock Performance

BPOP traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $118.00. The company had a trading volume of 410,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,441. The stock has a market cap of $7.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, 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 $119.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $112.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.85.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total transaction of $728,980.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,851,561.48. This represents a 20.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

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.