Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Boosts Stock Holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 172.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,319 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 2,102 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Popular were worth $293,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Popular by 57.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $88,859,000 after buying an additional 366,870 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in Popular by 395.0% in the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 429,197 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,224,000 after acquiring an additional 342,492 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Popular by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 835,311 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,867,000 after acquiring an additional 286,450 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Popular during the first quarter worth $19,997,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Popular by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,816,736 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $313,240,000 after purchasing an additional 216,855 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of BPOP opened at $98.58 on Friday. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $59.27 and a 52-week high of $105.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.42. The company has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.38. Popular had a net margin of 12.20% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $751.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 36.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Popular from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Popular in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Hovde Group boosted their price target on Popular from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Popular in a research note on Monday, August 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.22.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Camille Burckhart sold 5,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.60, for a total transaction of $577,499.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,920,387.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Popular 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.