Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) to Issue $0.75 Quarterly Dividend

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of 0.75 per share by the bank on Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 18th.

Popular has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 6 consecutive years. Popular has a dividend payout ratio of 24.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Popular to earn $11.73 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.6%.

Popular Stock Down 6.0%

Shares of BPOP stock traded down $8.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $133.93. 182,840 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 571,671. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $133.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.43. The company has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.63. Popular has a 12 month low of $78.23 and a 12 month high of $149.31.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $806.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.55 million. Popular had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 13.87%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.51 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Popular will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In related news, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 2,360 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total transaction of $312,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 57,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,611,992.50. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Popular

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Popular in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Popular by 70.8% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Popular by 2,158.8% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 384 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Popular

Popular, Inc, headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a financial holding company and a leading provider of banking services in the United States mainland and Puerto Rico. Through its primary subsidiaries—Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and Popular Bank—the company delivers comprehensive commercial and consumer banking solutions. It offers deposit products, lending facilities, cash management services and payment-processing solutions designed for individuals, small businesses and large corporations.

The company’s product suite encompasses checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial mortgage loans, business lines of credit and credit cards.