Strs Ohio Invests $1.92 Million in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• Strs Ohio acquired a new stake of 20,736 shares in Popular, Inc. valued at approximately $1,915,000 during the first quarter.
• Insider selling activity includes Gilberto Monzon, EVP, who sold 18,001 shares for approximately $2.24 million, reducing his holdings by over 42%.
• Popular, Inc. recently declared a $0.1328 dividend to be paid on September 30th, with a current dividend payout ratio of 29.07%.

Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 20,736 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,915,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BPOP. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 161,612 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,201,000 after acquiring an additional 5,404 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,659 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 46.1% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 98,500 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,265,000 after acquiring an additional 31,100 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the 4th quarter worth about $11,305,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Popular by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 215,936 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,311,000 after buying an additional 19,282 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 18,001 shares of Popular stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,083,495.31. The trade was a 42.08% decrease in their position. 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 Trading Up 0.1%

Popular stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $127.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,066,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 558,112. Popular, Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.23 and a 1-year high of $128.79. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $119.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.63. The stock has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.68.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.1328 per share. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BPOP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Popular from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Hovde Group reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Popular in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Popular presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $128.88.

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.