Invesco Ltd. Reduces Position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Invesco Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,832 shares of the bank's stock after selling 13,252 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.14% of Popular worth $9,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Popular during the third quarter worth $216,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in 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 last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter worth about $81,000. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,635,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 304.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 99,861 shares of the bank's stock valued at $10,042,000 after purchasing an additional 75,164 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of BPOP remained flat at $95.94 during mid-day trading on Friday. 593,281 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 487,823. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.23 and a fifty-two week high of $106.81. The company has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $91.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.26.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last released 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 analyst estimates of $760.45 million. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $984,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Hovde Group decreased their price objective on shares of Popular from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $125.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Popular has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.14.

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.