Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 75,164 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 304.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 99,861 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 75,164 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.14% of Popular worth $10,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BPOP. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,635,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the third quarter valued at $81,000. TCW Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Popular by 15.2% during the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 94,815 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,507,000 after acquiring an additional 12,494 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,800,000. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ BPOP traded up $1.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $91.66. 1,458,994 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 435,573. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.01 and a fifty-two week high of $105.01. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $96.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $736.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.62 million. Popular had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 11.35%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. This is a positive change from Popular's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on BPOP shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Popular from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $108.25.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other Popular news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total transaction of $178,320.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at $325,569.72. This represents a 35.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total value of $347,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,490,403.40. This trade represents a 12.23 % 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.

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.