Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 7.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,054,849 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 71,782 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.48% of Popular worth $105,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BPOP. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,087 shares of the bank's stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Popular by 4.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,749 shares of the bank's stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Popular by 0.8% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 19,690 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Popular by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,874 shares of the bank's stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BPOP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $108.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Popular news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total value of $178,320.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $325,569.72. This trade represents a 35.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total value of $347,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,490,403.40. This represents a 12.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $91.66 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $96.10 and its 200-day moving average is $95.32. Popular, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.01 and a 1 year high of $105.01. The company has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $736.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $766.62 million. Popular had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 12.36%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 8.46 EPS for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from Popular's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.04%.

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.