CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Purchases 4,229 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,477 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 4,229 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co's holdings in Popular were worth $2,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank's stock worth $105,769,000 after purchasing an additional 71,782 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Popular by 1,719.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 37,775 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,553,000 after purchasing an additional 35,699 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Popular by 304.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 99,861 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,042,000 after purchasing an additional 75,164 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Popular by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,362,875 shares of the bank's stock worth $128,192,000 after buying an additional 39,999 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BPOP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Hovde Group cut their price objective on Popular from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.14.

Popular Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of Popular stock traded up $2.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $99.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 106,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 487,993. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $90.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $78.23 and a one year high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $760.45 million. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. Popular's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Popular's payout ratio is currently 28.90%.

Insider Activity

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.