Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Bought by X Square Capital LLC

X Square Capital LLC increased its position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 135.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,820 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 21,753 shares during the quarter. Popular comprises about 1.5% of X Square Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. X Square Capital LLC owned 0.05% of Popular worth $3,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter worth about $79,842,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Popular by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 697,389 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,596,000 after buying an additional 93,262 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Popular during the third quarter worth approximately $9,115,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Popular by 18.3% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 548,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,954,000 after acquiring an additional 84,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at $8,385,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total transaction of $1,040,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Popular Price Performance

NASDAQ BPOP opened at $93.20 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $98.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.60 and a 12 month high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BPOP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. UBS Group began coverage on Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Popular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.00.

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.