First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 53.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,312,952 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 459,231 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 1.84% of Popular worth $123,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,239 shares of the bank's stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in Popular by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,953 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in Popular by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 31,357 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Popular by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,709 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,888,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total value of $1,040,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,418,721.32. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Popular Stock Performance

NASDAQ BPOP remained flat at $95.94 on Friday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 593,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,930. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62. Popular, Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.23 and a 1-year high of $106.81. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $91.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.27.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The business had revenue of $755.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $760.45 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Popular's payout ratio is currently 28.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BPOP has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $125.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.14.

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.