Insider Selling: Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) EVP Sells 9,600 Shares of Stock

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of Popular stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $984,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through this link.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $103.34. 145,080 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 454,733. Popular, Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.60 and a twelve month high of $106.46. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Popular Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This is an increase from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is 32.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BPOP. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Popular by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,056,377 shares of the bank’s stock worth $207,475,000 after acquiring an additional 10,599 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Popular by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $105,769,000 after purchasing an additional 71,782 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Popular by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 902,931 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $90,537,000 after purchasing an additional 67,620 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Popular by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 697,389 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,596,000 after buying an additional 93,262 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Popular by 3.7% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 629,537 shares of the bank’s stock worth $63,124,000 after acquiring an additional 22,355 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Company 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.