Popular, Inc. $BPOP Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 32.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211,183 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 100,103 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Popular were worth $28,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BPOP. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Popular by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Popular in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of BPOP opened at $174.16 on Wednesday. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.74 and a 52-week high of $175.12. The company has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.79.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.63. Popular had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 21.37%.The business had revenue of $846.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $878.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $201.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Popular from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Popular from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.42.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 23,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $3,450,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 34,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,188,200. This represents a 39.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.36, for a total value of $45,108.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $595,425.60. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,500 shares of company stock worth $4,415,870. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Popular 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.