Popular, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.70 (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of 0.70 per share by the bank on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%.

Popular has increased its dividend by an average of 13.5% per year over the last three years. Popular has a payout ratio of 23.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Popular to earn $11.73 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.9%.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of Popular stock opened at $100.32 on Thursday. Popular has a one year low of $80.60 and a one year high of $106.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $99.04 and its 200 day moving average is $97.91. The stock has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.82.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its earnings results 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%. Analysts predict that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays raised their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.25.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In related news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

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.