Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Price Target Lowered to $114.00 at Hovde Group

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Hovde Group from $118.00 to $114.00 in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. Hovde Group currently has an outperform rating on the bank's stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BPOP. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.14.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of BPOP stock remained flat at $95.94 during mid-day trading on Thursday. 593,281 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 487,823. The company has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $91.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.26. Popular has a twelve month low of $78.23 and a twelve month high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $755.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $760.45 million. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Popular will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.90%.

Insider Activity

In other Popular news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This trade represents 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Popular

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Popular by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,286,832 shares of the bank's stock worth $873,519,000 after acquiring an additional 56,222 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,192,769 shares of the bank's stock worth $394,373,000 after buying an additional 201,067 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Popular by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,908,406 shares of the bank's stock valued at $179,505,000 after purchasing an additional 25,222 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Popular by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,418,729 shares of the bank's stock valued at $133,446,000 after purchasing an additional 515,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Popular by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,362,875 shares of the bank's stock worth $128,192,000 after purchasing an additional 39,999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% 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.