Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC Raises Stock Position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 988,777 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 23,214 shares during the period. Popular comprises 0.9% of Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC owned approximately 1.39% of Popular worth $93,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Popular in the 4th quarter worth about $79,842,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,418,729 shares of the bank's stock valued at $133,446,000 after purchasing an additional 515,798 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake 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 valued at $123,496,000 after purchasing an additional 459,231 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,192,769 shares of the bank's stock valued at $394,373,000 after purchasing an additional 201,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,990,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Popular Stock Performance

BPOP stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $104.26. The stock had a trading volume of 252,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 494,625. The stock has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.34. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.23 and a 52-week high of $112.00.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $755.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $760.45 million. Popular had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BPOP shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Hovde Group lowered their target price on shares of Popular from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $125.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Popular has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.