Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 12,603 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 63.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,398 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,603 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $4,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BPOP. Ethic Inc. purchased a new position in Popular during the third quarter worth about $653,000. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,660,000. Burney Co. boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 134.3% in the 3rd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 48,557 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,167,000 after buying an additional 27,837 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 40.8% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 41,270 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,242,000 after acquiring an additional 11,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Popular by 47.3% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 188,960 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,818,000 after acquiring an additional 60,701 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BPOP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Popular in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Popular from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Popular from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Popular in a report on Thursday, January 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $152.00 price objective for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Popular has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.00.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In related news, Director Richard L. Carrion sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.50, for a total transaction of $2,837,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 193,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,907,770. The trade was a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.84, for a total transaction of $114,840.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,604 shares in the company, valued at $299,043.36. This trade represents a 27.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.23% of the company’s stock.

Popular Trading Up 0.7%

BPOP opened at $122.87 on Tuesday. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.23 and a 12 month high of $131.10. The company has a market cap of $8.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $122.14 and a 200 day moving average of $120.20.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 26.55%.

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.