Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 971,290 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 83,559 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Popular were worth $91,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in Popular by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 22,089 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,078,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Popular in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,428,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Popular by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 92,877 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,736,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Popular by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 54,374 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,114,000 after purchasing an additional 13,504 shares during the period. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Popular in the fourth quarter valued at about $206,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $106.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.82. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $80.60 and a one year high of $106.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.55.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total value of $1,040,200.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.25.

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.