Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Stock Position Lifted by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 38.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,316 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 11,230 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.06% of Popular worth $3,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Norges Bank bought a new position in Popular during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,842,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Popular by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,418,729 shares of the bank’s stock worth $133,446,000 after buying an additional 515,798 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Popular by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,312,952 shares of the bank’s stock worth $123,496,000 after buying an additional 459,231 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Popular by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,192,769 shares of the bank’s stock worth $394,373,000 after buying an additional 201,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in Popular during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,990,000. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Price Performance

BPOP opened at $104.46 on Thursday. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.23 and a 12 month high of $106.81. The stock has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $91.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.46.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.30. Popular had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $755.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $760.45 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BPOP has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Popular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Popular from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Hovde Group cut their price target on Popular from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.14.

About Popular

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.