Bank of New York Mellon Corp Has $65.60 Million Position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 697,389 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 93,262 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.98% of Popular worth $65,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TCW Group Inc. increased its position in Popular by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 94,815 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,507,000 after purchasing an additional 12,494 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Popular by 7.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,769,000 after buying an additional 71,782 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Popular by 284.9% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 72,403 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,260,000 after buying an additional 53,590 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Popular by 83.9% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $957,000 after buying an additional 4,354 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Popular by 1,719.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 37,775 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,553,000 after acquiring an additional 35,699 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Popular news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This represents 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.25.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP opened at $98.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.82. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.60 and a fifty-two week high of $106.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.01.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its 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 return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

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.