Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 6,919 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC trimmed its position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,479 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 6,919 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $3,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Popular by 262.9% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 352 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Popular by 117.7% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 540 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Popular by 84.2% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 593 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 63.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 682 shares of the bank’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on BPOP. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of Popular in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Popular in a report on Thursday, January 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $152.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Popular from $146.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised Popular from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.09.

Popular Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP opened at $134.17 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.03. The stock has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.61. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.23 and a 12 month high of $149.31.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $806.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.55 million. Popular had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 13.70%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.51 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other Popular news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 2,360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total value of $312,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 57,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,611,992.50. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 1,451 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total value of $204,373.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $481,002.75. This represents a 29.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Popular

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.