Polaris Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Polaris Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 886,530 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 72,800 shares during the period. Popular comprises about 7.4% of Polaris Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $112,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Popular by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 104,818 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,313,000 after purchasing an additional 4,046 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. grew its holdings in Popular by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 4,610 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Popular by 79.7% during the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,655 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 1,621 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the third quarter worth $509,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its position in shares of Popular by 0.6% during the third quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 17,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $126.26 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.29. Popular, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.23 and a 12-month high of $131.10.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $720.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $803.95 million. Popular had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.63%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. Research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BPOP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Popular from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Popular in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Popular in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In related news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.84, for a total value of $114,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,604 shares in the company, valued at $299,043.36. The trade was a 27.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard L. Carrion sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.50, for a total value of $2,837,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 193,020 shares in the company, valued at $21,907,770. This represents a 11.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.