Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Director Sells $3,450,000.00 in Stock

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Director Alejandro Ballester sold 23,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $3,450,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 34,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,188,200. This represents a 39.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Popular Price Performance

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $149.35 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $138.97 and a 200-day moving average of $129.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.63. Popular, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.61 and a twelve month high of $152.95.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $822.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.54 million. Popular had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 14.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 22.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on BPOP. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $156.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $155.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $141.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Credit Suisse Group set a $156.00 price objective on shares of Popular in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Popular from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Popular has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in Popular during the first quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 1.7% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,693 shares of the bank’s stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Popular by 17.3% in the first quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the bank’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Popular by 22.5% in the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,879 shares of the bank’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC bought a new stake in Popular during the first quarter valued at $228,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently 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.