Burney Co. Reduces Stock Position in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Burney Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 34.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,640 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 16,917 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.’s holdings in Popular were worth $3,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BPOP. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Popular by 262.9% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 352 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Popular by 117.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 540 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Popular by 84.2% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 593 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Popular by 63.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 682 shares of the bank’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Stock Performance

Popular stock opened at $144.82 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $137.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.87. The stock has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.59. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.00 and a fifty-two week high of $149.31.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $806.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.55 million. Popular had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 13.70%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.51 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on BPOP. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Popular from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Popular from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $142.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Popular from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Popular from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 2,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total transaction of $312,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 57,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,611,992.50. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 1,451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $204,373.35. Following the sale, the director owned 3,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $481,002.75. This trade represents a 29.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Popular Company Profile

Popular, Inc, headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a financial holding company and a leading provider of banking services in the United States mainland and Puerto Rico. Through its primary subsidiaries—Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and Popular Bank—the company delivers comprehensive commercial and consumer banking solutions. It offers deposit products, lending facilities, cash management services and payment-processing solutions designed for individuals, small businesses and large corporations.

The company’s product suite encompasses checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial mortgage loans, business lines of credit and credit cards.