Earnest Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC has increased its stake in Popular, Inc. by 3.5% during Q1, owning 725,105 shares worth approximately $66.98 million.
• Popular, Inc. is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.75 on October 1st, which is an increase from the previous $0.70 dividend, representing a yield of 2.4%.
• Citigroup and Hovde Group recently raised their target prices for Popular shares, with updated prices set at $142.00 and $140.00 respectively, highlighting continued analyst confidence in the stock.

Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 725,105 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 24,759 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned 1.05% of Popular worth $66,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Popular in the 1st quarter worth $47,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Popular by 589.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 821 shares of the bank's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Popular by 33.4% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the bank's stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Crestline Management LP bought a new position in Popular in the fourth quarter worth about $215,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Popular in the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Popular from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Popular in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Popular from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $128.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total transaction of $728,980.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 27,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,851,561.48. The trade was a 20.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of BPOP traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $125.64. The company had a trading volume of 715,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 485,283. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $115.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.68. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.23 and a 52-week high of $126.27.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.49. Popular had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 16.49%.The firm had revenue of $800.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $777.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Popular's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

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.