KBC Group NV Buys 35,699 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 1,719.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 37,775 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 35,699 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.05% of Popular worth $3,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Popular during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Popular during the third quarter valued at $81,000. Finally, Arcus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter worth $201,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BPOP has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Popular from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.25.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of BPOP traded up $1.42 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $101.33. The stock had a trading volume of 341,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,482. The business's fifty day moving average is $97.33 and its 200 day moving average is $97.46. The firm has a market cap 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. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.60 and a 52-week high of $106.46.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. This is an increase from Popular's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Popular's payout ratio is 32.71%.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total transaction of $347,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,490,403.40. This trade represents a 12.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,325 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,581 over the last three months. 2.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.