Ieq Capital LLC Raises Position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 647.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,775 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,130 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $1,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Popular by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,239 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Popular by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,749 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in Popular by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 19,690 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Popular by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 92,877 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,736,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Popular during the third quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 $3,418,721.32. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on BPOP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group began coverage on Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.25.

Popular Stock Performance

BPOP stock opened at $100.69 on Monday. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $80.60 and a one year high of $106.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $98.61 and its 200 day moving average is $97.83. The firm has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.82.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.