R Squared Ltd Buys Shares of 1,760 Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,760 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $166,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in Popular in the third quarter worth $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Popular in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Popular in the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at about $81,000. Finally, Arcus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Popular Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $103.72 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.35. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.60 and a fifty-two week high of $106.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 11.35%. On average, research analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 8.41 EPS for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In related news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total value of $178,320.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,332 shares in the company, valued at $325,569.72. This trade represents a 35.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total value of $347,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,490,403.40. This represents a 12.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BPOP shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com raised Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group initiated coverage on Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Popular presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.63.

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.