Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Purchased by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 24.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,636 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,804 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Popular were worth $1,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TCW Group Inc. boosted its stake in Popular by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 94,815 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,507,000 after purchasing an additional 12,494 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Popular by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,769,000 after purchasing an additional 71,782 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Popular by 284.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 72,403 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,260,000 after purchasing an additional 53,590 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Popular by 83.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the bank’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 4,354 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Popular by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $90.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.41. Popular, Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.60 and a twelve month high of $106.81. The company has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.71%.

Insider Transactions at Popular

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BPOP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price objective 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 shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.