Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $6.20 Million Stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,888 shares of the bank's stock after selling 6,515 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.09% of Popular worth $6,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Popular during the 4th quarter worth about $6,039,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Popular by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,247 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its position in shares of Popular by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 109,661 shares of the bank's stock valued at $10,315,000 after purchasing an additional 4,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Popular by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 142,300 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Popular Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ BPOP traded down $0.34 on Thursday, hitting $93.20. 396,655 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 438,190. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $98.25 and a 200-day moving average of $97.02. The stock has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.60 and a 52 week high of $106.81.

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

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total value of $1,040,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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. 2.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BPOP has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Popular from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Popular has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $113.00.

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.