Harbor Advisors LLC Purchases 3,000 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Harbor Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 30.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,000 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Harbor Advisors LLC's holdings in Popular were worth $1,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BPOP. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,657,000. AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in Popular during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $224,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Popular by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,362,875 shares of the bank's stock worth $128,192,000 after buying an additional 39,999 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in Popular by 463.4% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 28,446 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,676,000 after purchasing an additional 23,397 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Popular by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 24,037 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,261,000 after buying an additional 4,550 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Stock Down 0.4 %

BPOP stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $93.20. The company had a trading volume of 396,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 437,703. The company has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $98.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.02. Popular, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.60 and a 12-month high of $106.81.

Remove Ads

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular's payout ratio is 32.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BPOP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. 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. UBS Group started coverage on Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Popular from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Popular currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $113.00.

Insider Activity

In other Popular news, 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 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 $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the business'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 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. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

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.