Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Bought by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 1,719.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,775 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,699 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.05% of Popular worth $3,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Popular Price Performance

Shares of BPOP opened at $102.94 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $97.36 and its 200-day moving average is $97.48. The company has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.81. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.60 and a fifty-two week high of $106.46.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. Equities research analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. This is an increase from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Popular’s payout ratio is 32.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total transaction of $178,320.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,332 shares in the company, valued at $325,569.72. This represents a 35.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $1,040,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,325 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,581 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on BPOP. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Popular presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.25.

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.