Aquatic Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 82.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,262 shares of the bank's stock after selling 10,638 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Popular were worth $213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BPOP has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $125.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Hovde Group lowered their price target on shares of Popular from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.14.

Popular Price Performance

NASDAQ:BPOP traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $100.04. 151,394 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 492,531. The company's 50 day moving average price is $90.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.15. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.23 and a 52-week high of $106.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Popular's payout ratio is 28.90%.

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.