Park Avenue Securities LLC Boosts Stock Position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,874 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Popular by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,816,736 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $313,240,000 after acquiring an additional 216,855 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Popular by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,218,828 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $107,781,000 after acquiring an additional 113,838 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Popular by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $88,859,000 after acquiring an additional 366,870 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Popular by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 859,794 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,129,000 after acquiring an additional 164,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Popular by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 835,311 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,867,000 after purchasing an additional 286,450 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of Popular stock opened at $100.57 on Friday. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.27 and a fifty-two week high of $105.01. The firm has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average is $98.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.31.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $751.57 million. Popular had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 12.20%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 5,917 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.60, for a total value of $577,499.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,920,387.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BPOP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 target price (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Popular in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on Popular from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Popular from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Hovde Group increased their target price on Popular from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Popular from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $115.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.38.

Popular 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.