Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Holdings Raised by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 57.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,418,729 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 515,798 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Popular were worth $133,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew 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 last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Popular in the third quarter valued at $81,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Popular in the fourth quarter valued at $166,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of Popular stock opened at $82.50 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.65. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.59 and a fifty-two week high of $106.81. The firm has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. Analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BPOP. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Popular currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.00.

Insider Activity

In other Popular news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total transaction of $1,040,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % 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.