Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Acquires 4,789 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 594.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,595 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 4,789 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in Popular were worth $526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Popular by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,056,377 shares of the bank's stock valued at $207,475,000 after purchasing an additional 10,599 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Popular by 7.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank's stock valued at $105,769,000 after buying an additional 71,782 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Popular by 8.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 902,931 shares of the bank's stock valued at $90,537,000 after buying an additional 67,620 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Popular by 3.7% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 629,537 shares of the bank's stock valued at $63,124,000 after buying an additional 22,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Popular by 18.3% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 548,057 shares of the bank's stock valued at $54,954,000 after buying an additional 84,839 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Popular Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP traded up $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $104.41. The company had a trading volume of 446,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 459,677. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $97.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.82. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $80.60 and a one year high of $106.46.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BPOP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Popular from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Popular currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.25.

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.