Ritholtz Wealth Management Increases Stock Holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 253.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,568 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 13,312 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Popular were worth $1,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BPOP. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Popular by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 30,556 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,508,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 161,981 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,294,000 after buying an additional 17,467 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Wedmont Private Capital bought a new stake in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Popular by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,016,116 shares of the bank's stock worth $568,105,000 after acquiring an additional 171,391 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $88.09. 394,404 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 599,106. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $84.67 and a 200 day moving average of $75.99. Popular, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.32 and a 1 year high of $89.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.89. Popular had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 12.63%. The company had revenue of $702.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.76 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. Popular's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total transaction of $391,793.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,260,092.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 599 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.65, for a total transaction of $51,304.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,272,208.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total transaction of $391,793.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,260,092.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on BPOP shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Popular from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Popular from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Popular from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Popular in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $99.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.71.

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.