Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Purchased by Dark Forest Capital Management LP

Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 69.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,324 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 4,652 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in Popular were worth $1,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Popular by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,286,832 shares of the bank's stock valued at $873,519,000 after purchasing an additional 56,222 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Popular by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,908,406 shares of the bank's stock worth $179,505,000 after acquiring an additional 25,222 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,418,729 shares of the bank's stock worth $133,446,000 after acquiring an additional 515,798 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,362,875 shares of the bank's stock valued at $128,192,000 after acquiring an additional 39,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Popular by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,312,952 shares of the bank's stock valued at $123,496,000 after purchasing an additional 459,231 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group cut their price objective on shares of Popular from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $125.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Popular has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.14.

Popular Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $96.44. The stock had a trading volume of 114,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,385. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.21. The company has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62. Popular, Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.23 and a 1 year high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.30. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The firm had revenue of $755.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $760.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. Popular's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Popular's payout ratio is currently 28.90%.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total value of $1,040,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at $3,418,721.32. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $984,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.