Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $63.73 Million Stock Holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 677,503 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 35,454 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.95% of Popular worth $63,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BPOP. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Popular by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 697,389 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,596,000 after acquiring an additional 93,262 shares during the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Popular in the third quarter valued at about $9,115,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Popular by 18.3% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 548,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,954,000 after acquiring an additional 84,839 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Popular in the third quarter valued at about $8,385,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Popular by 304.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 99,861 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,042,000 after acquiring an additional 75,164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BPOP. UBS Group began coverage on Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.25.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of Popular 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 owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,418,721.32. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Popular Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $87.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. Popular, Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.60 and a twelve month high of $106.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $99.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.67.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

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.