Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 3,804 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 24.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,636 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 3,804 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Popular were worth $1,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,239 shares of the bank's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,953 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,971,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 19,690 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,709 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,888,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

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Popular Stock Performance

Shares of Popular stock traded up $1.15 on Friday, hitting $91.37. 2,670,956 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 439,958. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.60 and a 52 week high of $106.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.23.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BPOP shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Popular from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $113.00.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % 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 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.