Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $1.49 Million Holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,839 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Popular were worth $1,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Popular in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $81,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Popular during the 4th quarter valued at $166,000. Finally, Arcus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Popular during the 3rd quarter worth $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction 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. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Popular Trading Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $100.32 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $98.83 and its 200 day moving average is $97.90. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.60 and a 12 month high of $106.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.82.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 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 predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.