Rafferty Asset Management LLC Buys 23,370 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 27.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,990 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 23,370 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.15% of Popular worth $10,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BPOP. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter worth $79,842,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Popular by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,418,729 shares of the bank's stock worth $133,446,000 after purchasing an additional 515,798 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Popular by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,312,952 shares of the bank's stock worth $123,496,000 after purchasing an additional 459,231 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Popular by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,192,769 shares of the bank's stock worth $394,373,000 after purchasing an additional 201,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Popular by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 723,384 shares of the bank's stock worth $68,041,000 after purchasing an additional 175,327 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP traded down $0.14 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $105.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 861,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,270. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.23 and a 12 month high of $107.00. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $92.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.60.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 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 the consensus estimate of $760.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. Popular's payout ratio is 28.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on BPOP. StockNews.com lowered Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $125.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.43.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other Popular news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.43, for a total value of $52,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $376,365.72. This trade represents a 12.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Popular Company 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.