Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 4,951 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 31.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,609 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 4,951 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Popular were worth $1,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Popular by 11.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 29,986 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,889,000 after acquiring an additional 3,042 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 25.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,950 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 2,795 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in Popular in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $769,000. Advisor Partners II LLC acquired a new position in Popular during the 3rd quarter worth $434,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total transaction of $391,793.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,260,092.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Performance

BPOP opened at $90.30 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $85.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.52. The firm has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a PE ratio of 13.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.81. Popular, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.46 and a twelve month high of $90.74.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BPOP has been the topic of several research reports. Hovde Group upped their price target on Popular from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Popular from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.89.

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.