Swiss National Bank Acquires 1,100 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 142,300 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Popular were worth $13,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Popular by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 697,389 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,596,000 after purchasing an additional 93,262 shares during the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter worth about $9,115,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 548,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,954,000 after buying an additional 84,839 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,385,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Popular by 304.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 99,861 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,042,000 after acquiring an additional 75,164 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Popular Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Popular stock opened at $90.96 on Thursday. Popular, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.60 and a 12-month high of $106.81. The company has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $98.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.27.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is 32.71%.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $984,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,418,721.32. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BPOP. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.00.

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.