American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stock Position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,362,875 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 39,999 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.91% of Popular worth $128,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BPOP. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Popular during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Popular by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the third quarter worth approximately $81,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total transaction of $1,040,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BPOP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upped their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.00.

Popular Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $91.37 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $98.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.11. Popular, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.60 and a 12-month high of $106.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s 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.