Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Acquired by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 926.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,272 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,420 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Popular were worth $2,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 83.9% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the bank’s stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 4,354 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,337,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $506,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Popular by 303.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,696 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after purchasing an additional 17,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 25.2% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,839 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on BPOP shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Popular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group started coverage on Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of Popular 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at $3,418,721.32. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at $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.

Popular Stock Down 1.8 %

BPOP opened at $91.52 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.95. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.60 and a 52 week high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released 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, equities analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

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

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.