Popular, Inc. $BPOP Position Cut by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. trimmed its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 93,933 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 7,899 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.14% of Popular worth $8,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BPOP. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Popular in the fourth quarter valued at $3,034,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its stake in Popular by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 3,257 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Popular by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,202 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 167.8% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 21,887 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,058,000 after purchasing an additional 13,715 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 71.9% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 20,728 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 8,671 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Popular Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $122.86 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $113.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.57. The firm has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.23 and a 52-week high of $123.68.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $800.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $777.38 million. Popular had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 16.49%.During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This is an increase from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.13%.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In related news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total value of $728,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 27,382 shares in the company, valued at $2,851,561.48. This trade represents a 20.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BPOP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Popular from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Popular in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group raised their price target on Popular from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Popular from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.88.

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.