Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Director Sells $204,373.35 in Stock

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Director Alejandro Sanchez sold 1,451 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total value of $204,373.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $481,002.75. This trade represents a 29.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Popular Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:BPOP traded up $2.73 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $138.09. 105,277 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 576,068. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.23 and a fifty-two week high of $149.31. The company has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.66.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued 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. Popular had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 18.75%.The company had revenue of $806.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Popular’s payout ratio is 24.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Popular in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Popular by 70.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Popular during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Popular by 2,158.8% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 384 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Popular from $153.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Popular from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Popular in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Popular in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $152.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $156.55.

Popular Company Profile

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.