Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Stock Position Boosted by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,089 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Popular were worth $2,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at about $81,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Popular in the 4th quarter valued at about $166,000. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares in the company, 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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $100.69 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $98.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.80. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.60 and a 52 week high of $106.81. The company has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.82.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BPOP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Popular presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.25.

About Popular

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.