Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,494 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 11,367 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Popular worth $8,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BPOP. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Popular by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,839 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 4.3% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 14,167 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Popular by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,056,377 shares of the bank’s stock worth $207,475,000 after purchasing an additional 10,599 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 152.8% in the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 6,329 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 3,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at about $216,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In related news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 2.23% of the company’s stock.

Popular Price Performance

BPOP opened at $86.91 on Thursday. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.23 and a 12 month high of $106.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted 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 net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. Research analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BPOP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Popular from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.57.

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.