Key Points
- Alejandro Ballester, a director of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP), sold 2,360 shares on Jan. 30 at an average price of $132.50 for total proceeds of $312,700, trimming his stake by 3.95% to 57,449 shares (valued at about $7.61M).
- Popular reported an EPS beat of $3.38 vs. $3.02 expected and revenue of $816M for the quarter, trades at a P/E of 11.09, and pays a $0.75 quarterly dividend (annual $3.00, yield ~2.2%).
- Analysts are generally positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154, while several firms (RBC, KBW, Barclays) recently raised targets despite a Zacks downgrade to Hold.
Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) Director Alejandro Ballester sold 2,360 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total transaction of $312,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 57,449 shares in the company, valued at $7,611,992.50. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.
Popular Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ BPOP opened at $136.69 on Tuesday. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.23 and a 52-week high of $136.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $124.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.90.
Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.36. Popular had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 18.75%.The business had revenue of $815.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.51 EPS. Analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.
Popular Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.35%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BPOP shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Popular from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Popular from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Popular from $146.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on Popular from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Popular from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $154.00.
Read Our Latest Report on Popular
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Popular in the third quarter valued at $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Popular by 262.9% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 352 shares of the bank's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Popular by 2,158.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 384 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Popular by 112.2% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 418 shares of the bank's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Popular by 3,925.0% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 483 shares of the bank's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Popular
(
Get Free Report)
Popular, Inc, headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a financial holding company and a leading provider of banking services in the United States mainland and Puerto Rico. Through its primary subsidiaries—Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and Popular Bank—the company delivers comprehensive commercial and consumer banking solutions. It offers deposit products, lending facilities, cash management services and payment-processing solutions designed for individuals, small businesses and large corporations.
The company's product suite encompasses checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial mortgage loans, business lines of credit and credit cards.
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