Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 270,785 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the previous session’s volume of 387,129 shares.The stock last traded at $85.12 and had previously closed at $85.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BPOP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Hovde Group upped their price target on Popular from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Popular from $96.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on Popular from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Popular from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Popular from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.89.

Popular Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $87.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.62.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.96 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $714.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $706.00 million. Popular had a return on equity of 11.67% and a net margin of 11.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Manuel Chinea sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total transaction of $1,088,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,456,700.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Manuel Chinea sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total transaction of $1,088,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,456,700.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.80, for a total value of $429,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,145,856. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Popular during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter worth about $83,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter worth about $90,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter worth about $139,000. Institutional investors 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.