Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Sold by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. lowered its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 31.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,152 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 522 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Popular were worth $108,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Popular by 279.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 38,798 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,890,000 after buying an additional 28,574 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,468,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 171.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 78,441 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,865,000 after acquiring an additional 49,533 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 28.9% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,918 shares of the bank’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its position in Popular by 84.3% during the third quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 75,509 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,571,000 after purchasing an additional 34,537 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BPOP shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total transaction of $1,040,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Popular Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP opened at $100.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $98.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.86. The company has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.82. Popular, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.60 and a 12-month high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular 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.