Voya Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 71.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,728 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 8,671 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in Popular were worth $1,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in Popular by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Popular in the third quarter worth $81,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Popular in the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Popular Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP traded down $0.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $100.11. 136,537 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 492,491. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $90.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.15. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.23 and a 52 week high of $106.81. The company has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.60.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $755.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. On average, analysts predict 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 will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Popular's payout ratio is currently 28.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BPOP shares. 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 report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com cut Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Finally, Hovde Group cut their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.14.

About Popular

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.