Swiss National Bank Has $13.39 Million Holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 142,300 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.20% of Popular worth $13,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BPOP. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Popular by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Popular during the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Popular by 284.9% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 72,403 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,260,000 after purchasing an additional 53,590 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Popular in the third quarter worth $443,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 0.8% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 19,690 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BPOP. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays increased their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group began coverage on Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Popular currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.00.

Popular Stock Performance

NASDAQ BPOP opened at $90.96 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.60 and a 52 week high of $106.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $98.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.27.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

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.