Popular, Inc. $BPOP Shares Acquired by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 1,975.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,277 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,047 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Popular were worth $5,878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ethic Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $653,000. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Popular in the third quarter valued at about $2,660,000. Burney Co. boosted its holdings in Popular by 134.3% during the third quarter. Burney Co. now owns 48,557 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,167,000 after buying an additional 27,837 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Popular by 40.8% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 41,270 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,242,000 after buying an additional 11,957 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Popular by 47.3% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 188,960 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,818,000 after buying an additional 60,701 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

More Popular News

Here are the key news stories impacting Popular this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Popular from Hold to Strong Buy and moved BPOP onto its Rank #1 value list—an upgrade that tends to attract value-focused and quant-driven buyers. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Independent coverage shows analysts maintaining a Buy consensus on BPOP, reinforcing demand from institutional and retail investors looking for banks with attractive valuations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlights BPOP hitting a 52‑week high and discusses whether the rally can continue—this momentum narrative can draw momentum and breakout buyers. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage noting analyst target adjustments and a fair‑value reset is reframing the narrative on BPOP, supporting renewed interest from value and target‑price driven investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks published a deeper note weighing BPOP’s appeal to value investors using its rank system—useful analysis but not an immediate catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: A few unrelated headlines that reference the “Popular” name (e.g., an ice‑cream chain Chapter 11 filing) could create short‑term headline noise or confusion but don’t reflect bank fundamentals. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BPOP shares. Zacks Research raised Popular from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Popular in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Popular from $146.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on Popular from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $152.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $155.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.84, for a total value of $114,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $299,043.36. The trade was a 27.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 transaction of $2,837,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 193,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,907,770. This represents a 11.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,360 shares of company stock valued at $3,265,040. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP opened at $145.97 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $126.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.59. The firm has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.63. Popular, Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.23 and a 1 year high of $146.95.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $815.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.55 million. Popular had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 18.75%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.35%.

About Popular

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.