BlackRock Inc. Sells 81,326 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

BlackRock Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP – Get Rating) by 2.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,373,968 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 81,326 shares during the quarter. BlackRock Inc.’s holdings in Popular were worth $243,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Popular by 394.0% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,108,132 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $85,249,000 after buying an additional 883,818 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 179.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 431,868 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,120,000 after acquiring an additional 277,251 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Popular by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 385,891 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,687,000 after acquiring an additional 175,710 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Popular by 236.8% during the second quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 205,369 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,800,000 after purchasing an additional 144,385 shares during the period. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Popular by 22.7% in the second quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 615,878 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,379,000 after purchasing an additional 113,782 shares during the period. 86.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Popular Stock Performance

NASDAQ BPOP opened at $54.92 on Tuesday. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.37 and a 52 week high of $86.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.56 and a 200-day moving average of $70.47.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The bank reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.81. The company had revenue of $559.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $730.82 million. Popular had a net margin of 32.75% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 17th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BPOP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Popular from $80.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Popular from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Popular from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 15th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Popular to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Popular from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.80.

Popular Profile

(Get Rating)

Popular, Inc operates as a holding company. The firm engages in the provision of banking and financial services. It operates through the following segments: Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, Popular U.S., and Corporate Group. The Banco Popular de Puerto Rico segment includes commercial banking, consumer and retail banking, and other financial services.