Rafferty Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 27.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 107,990 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,370 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $10,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Popular by 140.8% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 201,331 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,937,000 after purchasing an additional 117,705 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in Popular by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 161,612 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,201,000 after purchasing an additional 5,404 shares during the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC purchased a new position in Popular during the 4th quarter worth $1,076,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Popular during the 4th quarter worth $6,740,000. Finally, Jacobs Asset Management LLC grew its position in Popular by 44.7% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC now owns 137,500 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,933,000 after purchasing an additional 42,500 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP opened at $104.52 on Friday. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.23 and a 52 week high of $106.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $91.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.60.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $760.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.90%.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related 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 in the company, 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 link. Company insiders own 2.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BPOP has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. Hovde Group lowered their price objective on shares of Popular from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Popular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Popular from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Popular presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.43.

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.