Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) EVP Eduardo J. Negron Sells 10,000 Shares

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total transaction of $1,040,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Popular Stock Performance

Popular stock traded up $1.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $101.33. 341,813 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 474,482. The company has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $97.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.46. Popular, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.60 and a 1 year high of $106.46.

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, topping 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from Popular's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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 price target on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Popular by 235.5% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 332,093 shares of the bank's stock worth $33,299,000 after buying an additional 233,119 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 697,389 shares of the bank's stock valued at $65,596,000 after acquiring an additional 93,262 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter worth $9,115,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Popular by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 548,057 shares of the bank's stock valued at $54,954,000 after purchasing an additional 84,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Popular in the third quarter valued at about $8,385,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

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.