Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 6,281 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 105.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,256 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 6,281 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Popular were worth $1,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Popular by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Popular by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,953 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Popular by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 31,357 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,949,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its stake in Popular by 6.7% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 3,200 shares of the bank's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Popular by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BPOP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Monday. Finally, Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of Popular from $114.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Popular presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $116.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 500 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.43, for a total value of $52,215.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,365.72. The trade was a 12.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.14, for a total value of $728,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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.

Popular Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of BPOP stock traded up $0.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $114.22. The company had a trading volume of 479,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 535,924. The stock's 50-day moving average is $104.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.63. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.23 and a 52 week high of $115.16.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.30. Popular had a net margin of 15.82% and a return on equity of 12.22%. The firm had revenue of $755.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $760.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Popular's dividend payout ratio is 28.90%.

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.