Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases New Shares in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 127,472 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $11,990,000. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.18% of Popular at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Popular by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Popular in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $81,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the 4th quarter valued at about $166,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Popular during the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Popular from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of Popular stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Popular Price Performance

NASDAQ BPOP traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $84.19. The stock had a trading volume of 105,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 472,808. Popular, Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.23 and a 1 year high of $106.81. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $93.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.63. The stock has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 9.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Popular's payout ratio is 32.71%.

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.