Ritholtz Wealth Management Purchases 13,312 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 253.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,568 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,312 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Popular were worth $1,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BPOP. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Popular during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Popular by 55.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,420 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Popular by 68.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,096 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Popular by 51.9% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the bank’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 65.8% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,021 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Performance

BPOP opened at $88.09 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.83. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.32 and a 52-week high of $89.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.89. Popular had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 12.63%. The firm had revenue of $702.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $699.76 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BPOP shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Popular from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Popular from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their price target on Popular from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Popular from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Popular news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total transaction of $391,793.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,260,092.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total value of $391,793.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,260,092.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 599 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.65, for a total value of $51,304.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,272,208.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.