Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) EVP Eduardo J. Negron Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Popular Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $102.94 on Friday. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.60 and a fifty-two week high of $106.46. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.48. The company has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. Research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This is a positive change from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Popular’s payout ratio is 32.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BPOP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Popular has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.25.

Institutional Trading of Popular

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Popular by 1,938.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,731 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 2,597 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Popular by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,239 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 22,089 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,078,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,428,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Popular by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 92,877 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,736,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

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.