Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Sells 8,254 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC decreased its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 77.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,440 shares of the bank's stock after selling 8,254 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Popular were worth $230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Popular by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,099 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,699 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $81,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,635,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Popular by 304.3% in the 3rd 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, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Popular by 7.3% in the third 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Trading Up 1.5 %

BPOP traded up $1.52 during trading on Thursday, reaching $100.55. The stock had a trading volume of 435,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 493,153. The company has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.60. The stock's 50 day moving average is $90.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.13. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.30. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The company had revenue of $755.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $760.45 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Popular's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Popular's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BPOP. StockNews.com cut Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $125.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Popular presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.