Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) is Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC decreased its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 387,267 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,401 shares during the quarter. Popular comprises approximately 4.8% of Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $36,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 purchasing an additional 93,262 shares during the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC purchased 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 purchasing an additional 84,839 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased 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 purchasing an additional 75,164 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $91.37 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $98.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.11. The company has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.60 and a 52 week high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.00.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 value of $984,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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. 2.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.