Popular, Inc. (BPOP) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.70 on April 1st

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of 0.70 per share by the bank on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th.

Popular has raised its dividend payment by an average of 13.5% per year over the last three years. Popular has a payout ratio of 23.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Popular to earn $11.73 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.9%.

Popular Price Performance

BPOP opened at $90.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. Popular has a 1-year low of $80.60 and a 1-year high of $106.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $98.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.52.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

BPOP has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.00.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total transaction of $1,040,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

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.