Raymond James & Associates Raises Stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 30,556 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Popular were worth $2,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 68.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,096 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,420 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the 1st quarter valued at about $129,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of BPOP stock opened at $82.36 on Tuesday. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.32 and a fifty-two week high of $89.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $84.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.89. The company has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.82.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.89. Popular had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 12.63%. The company had revenue of $702.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.76 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Popular’s payout ratio is 32.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on BPOP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Popular from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays assumed coverage on Popular in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $99.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on Popular from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Popular from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Popular from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of Popular stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total value of $391,793.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,260,092.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Popular news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total transaction of $391,793.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,260,092.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 599 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.65, for a total transaction of $51,304.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,529 shares in the company, valued at $2,272,208.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.