Popular, Inc. $BPOP Shares Acquired by Virtus Advisers LLC

Virtus Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 75.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 17,467 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,521 shares during the quarter. Popular comprises approximately 1.0% of Virtus Advisers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Virtus Advisers LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $2,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Latitude Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 321 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 97.2% during the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 280 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Popular during the third quarter worth approximately $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ BPOP traded down $0.62 on Friday, hitting $157.88. 316,685 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 532,538. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $159.47 and a 200 day moving average of $154.75. Popular, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.01 and a twelve month high of $179.24. The company has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.63.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $4.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $874.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $904.43 million. Popular had a return on equity of 16.15% and a net margin of 22.36%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 16.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Popular’s payout ratio is 22.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Adorno Rodriguez sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total transaction of $101,274.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $420,624.68. This represents a 19.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BPOP shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Popular from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 9th. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Popular in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $171.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $192.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Popular from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.00.

Popular Profile

Popular, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Founded in 1893, it provides banking and other financial services primarily in Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland. Its principal subsidiary, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, serves individuals and businesses with consumer and commercial banking, mortgage lending, and related financial services. Popular also operates Popular Bank in the mainland United States and provides auto financing through Popular Auto. Ignacio Alvarez is Popular’s president and chief executive officer.