Analysts Set Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Price Target at $113.00

Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $113.00.

BPOP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Insider Activity at Popular

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BPOP. KBC Group NV increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter worth about $213,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Popular by 284.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 72,403 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,260,000 after purchasing an additional 53,590 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Popular in the third quarter valued at approximately $443,000. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the third quarter worth about $227,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of BPOP opened at $92.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $98.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.07. Popular has a fifty-two week low of $80.60 and a fifty-two week high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.71%.

About Popular

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.