Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Acquired by Treasurer of the State of North Carolina

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,357 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Popular were worth $2,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Popular in the fourth quarter valued at $3,034,000. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its position in Popular by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 123,813 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,646,000 after acquiring an additional 19,340 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in Popular during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,990,000. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,418,729 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $133,446,000 after purchasing an additional 515,798 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Trading Down 0.7 %

BPOP stock opened at $83.90 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $92.94 and a 200-day moving average of $95.55. Popular, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.23 and a 12-month high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Popular from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total value 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 trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Popular 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.