Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Buys 29,600 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 144.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,100 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 29,600 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.07% of Popular worth $4,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Popular by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Popular during the third quarter worth $81,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter valued at $166,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of Popular stock opened at $89.48 on Wednesday. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.23 and a 52-week high of $106.81. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $91.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.27. The company has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.45, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total transaction of $1,040,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BPOP. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.57.

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.

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