First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 459,231 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 53.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,312,952 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 459,231 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 1.84% of Popular worth $123,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Popular by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,239 shares of the bank's stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its holdings in Popular by 56.7% in the 4th 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 period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Popular by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,953 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,971,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in Popular by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 31,357 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,949,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Popular by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,709 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,888,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total value of $1,040,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,418,721.32. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on BPOP. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $125.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Hovde Group reduced their price objective on shares of Popular from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.14.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of BPOP stock remained flat at $95.94 during trading hours on Friday. 593,213 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 485,858. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $78.23 and a one year high of $106.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.27.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.30. The firm 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Popular's payout ratio is 28.90%.

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.