Barclays PLC Purchases 18,457 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 30.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,556 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 18,457 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.11% of Popular worth $7,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BPOP. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Popular by 1,719.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 37,775 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,553,000 after buying an additional 35,699 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 304.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 99,861 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,042,000 after acquiring an additional 75,164 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP remained flat at $95.94 during trading hours on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 593,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 487,823. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $91.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.23 and a 12 month high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $755.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $760.45 million. Popular had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Popular's payout ratio is 28.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total transaction of $1,040,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on BPOP. 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. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $125.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. 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 report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.