Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 19,036 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,667 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,036 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.11% of Popular worth $8,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Steph & Co. bought a new position in shares of Popular during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Popular by 2,158.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 384 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Popular by 112.2% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 418 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in Popular during the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 3,925.0% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 483 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of Popular stock opened at $120.04 on Thursday. Popular, Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.23 and a 1-year high of $129.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.00 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.67.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $720.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $803.95 million. Popular had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.63%.Popular’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 26.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Popular news, Director Richard L. Carrion sold 25,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.50, for a total transaction of $2,837,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 193,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,907,770. The trade was a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.84, for a total transaction of $114,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $299,043.36. The trade was a 27.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BPOP shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Popular in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Popular from $135.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Hovde Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Popular in a report on Friday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Popular has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $133.56.

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.