Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Boosts Stock Position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 38.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,316 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 11,230 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.06% of Popular worth $3,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in Popular by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Popular by 56.6% in the fourth 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. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Popular in the 4th quarter worth approximately $166,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Popular during the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BPOP shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $125.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Hovde Group cut their price objective on Popular from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.43.

Popular Stock Up 0.2%

BPOP stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $105.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 41,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 592,476. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.60. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.23 and a 52-week high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. The company had revenue of $755.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $760.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. Popular's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. Popular's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.43, for a total transaction of $52,215.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,365.72. This trade represents a 12.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.09% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.