Meeder Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 64.4%, now owning approximately $4.44 million worth of the bank's stock.
• Recent upgrades from analysts include Citigroup raising the target price from $133 to $142 and Barclays increasing it from $125 to $140, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.
• The company reported an EPS of $3.09 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, alongside a recent quarterly dividend of $0.70.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 64.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,114 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 18,842 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Popular worth $4,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 589.9% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 821 shares of the bank's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Crestline Management LP acquired a new position in Popular during the 4th quarter worth $215,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in Popular during the fourth quarter valued at about $227,000. Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter valued at about $246,000. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter worth about $261,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of BPOP stock traded down $1.16 on Friday, hitting $113.43. The company had a trading volume of 316,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,870. The firm has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.63. Popular, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.23 and a twelve month high of $118.54. The stock's 50-day moving average is $109.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.67.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $800.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $777.38 million. Popular had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 16.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.13%.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.43, for a total transaction of $52,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $376,365.72. This trade represents a 12.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total transaction of $728,980.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 27,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,851,561.48. This trade represents a 20.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on BPOP. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Popular from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays raised their price target on Popular from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Popular from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Popular in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.88.

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.