Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Acquired by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 594.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,595 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 4,789 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Popular were worth $526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Popular by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,056,377 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $207,475,000 after purchasing an additional 10,599 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 7.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $105,769,000 after buying an additional 71,782 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 8.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 902,931 shares of the bank’s stock worth $90,537,000 after purchasing an additional 67,620 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 3.7% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 629,537 shares of the bank’s stock worth $63,124,000 after purchasing an additional 22,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 18.3% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 548,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,954,000 after purchasing an additional 84,839 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP opened at $103.53 on Wednesday. Popular, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.60 and a 12-month high of $106.46. The company has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $97.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.50.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its 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 return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on BPOP. UBS Group began coverage on Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Popular has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

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

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.