BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 17,819 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 303.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,696 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 17,819 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Popular were worth $2,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Popular in the third quarter valued at about $506,000. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,337,000. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 29.2% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 114,164 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,447,000 after buying an additional 25,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Popular by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the bank's stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 4,354 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BPOP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $103.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $104.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.00.

Popular Price Performance

BPOP stock traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $99.15. 411,248 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 478,247. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $96.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.91. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.17 and a 52 week high of $105.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.17). Popular had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 11.35%. The company had revenue of $736.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from Popular's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Popular's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total transaction of $178,320.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $325,569.72. This represents a 35.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total transaction of $347,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,115 shares in the company, 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. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.