MML Investors Services LLC Makes New $216,000 Investment in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,151 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Popular by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 31,582 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,793,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Popular by 3.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 607,253 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,699,000 after buying an additional 20,522 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Popular during the second quarter worth $277,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Popular by 9.4% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,832 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,400,000 after buying an additional 1,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Popular by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,031 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Popular Stock Performance

NASDAQ BPOP opened at $95.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.81. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.01 and a fifty-two week high of $105.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.56.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $736.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $766.62 million. Popular had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 12.36%. Popular’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 38.04%.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total transaction of $178,320.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $325,569.72. The trade was a 35.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total transaction of $347,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,490,403.40. This represents a 12.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BPOP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Popular from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.25.

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.