LPL Financial LLC Has $681,000 Position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 31.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,245 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,722 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Popular in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in shares of Popular by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Popular by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Popular during the third quarter worth about $81,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Popular in the fourth quarter valued at about $166,000. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of BPOP opened at $89.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.23 and a 12 month high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. As a group, research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on BPOP. Wells Fargo & Company raised Popular from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Popular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 value of $1,040,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

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.