During the third quarter, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Popular, Inc. by 269.4%, acquiring an additional 15,338 shares to bring its total holding to 21,032 shares valued at approximately $2.63 million. Several other institutional investors also adjusted their positions: Ethic Inc. initiated a new stake valued at $653,000; Burney Co. boosted its position by 134.3% to 48,557 shares (approximately $6.17 million); Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake by 47.3% to 188,960 shares (about $20.82 million); Brendel Financial Advisors LLC opened a position worth $2.66 million; and Nomura Holdings Inc. established a new position valued at $3.53 million. Collectively, institutional and hedge fund ownership now represents 87.27% of Popular’s outstanding shares.

Research firms have recently reaffirmed confidence in Popular’s outlook. Barclays maintained its overweight rating in early October, while UBS reiterated a neutral stance. Wells Fargo & Company adjusted its target downward but upheld an overweight recommendation, and Truist Financial initiated coverage with a buy rating and a $153 target. Conversely, Zacks Research downgraded the stock from strong-buy to hold in December. Of the eleven analysts covering the company, nine recommend buy and two recommend hold, yielding a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $133.78.

In late October, Popular reported quarterly earnings per share of $3.14, exceeding consensus estimates by $0.10, on revenue of $720.8 million, which was below analyst projections by roughly $83 million. The bank achieved a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 13.27%, although revenue declined by 1.3% year-over-year. For the full year, sell-side analysts anticipate earnings of approximately $10.06 per share. The company’s trailing price-to-earnings ratio stands at 11.52, with a price/earnings-to-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.63, reflecting moderate valuation and volatility relative to peers.

Popular declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, paid in early January to shareholders of record as of early December, translating to an annualized payout of $3.00 and a yield of 2.3%. The dividend payout ratio is 26.55%. In November, Vice President Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,000 shares, reducing her position by 27.8%, and Director Richard L. Carrion disposed of 25,000 shares, trimming his ownership by 11.5%. Insider ownership now represents 2.09% of the company’s outstanding shares.