PharVision Advisers LLC Takes Position in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• PharVision Advisers LLC has acquired a new stake in Popular, Inc. valued at approximately $265,000 by purchasing 2,868 shares in the company during the 1st quarter.
• Popular, Inc. reported $3.09 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.60, with revenues reaching $800.03 million.
• The firm announced a dividend of $0.1328 to be paid on September 30th, with a payout ratio of 29.07%.

PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,868 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Popular by 589.9% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 821 shares of the bank's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $84,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Popular by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,749 shares of the bank's stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Finally, Crestline Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $215,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Trading Down 0.2%

BPOP traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $123.85. 129,209 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 560,223. Popular, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.23 and a 12-month high of $128.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $118.20 and a 200 day moving average of $104.55. The firm has a market cap of $8.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.1328 per share. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 18,001 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.47, for a total transaction of $2,240,584.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,773 shares in the company, valued at $3,083,495.31. The trade was a 42.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BPOP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Popular from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Popular from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "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.