Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Gap Down to $85.25

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $85.25, but opened at $82.03. Popular shares last traded at $87.74, with a volume of 52,693 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BPOP. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Popular from $96.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Popular from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays initiated coverage on Popular in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $99.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Popular from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Popular from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Popular presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.63.

Popular Trading Up 2.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.60.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.89. The business had revenue of $702.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.76 million. Popular had a return on equity of 12.63% and a net margin of 13.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total value of $391,793.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,260,092.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total value of $391,793.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,260,092.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,272,208.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Popular

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Popular in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,881,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Popular by 21.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,599,881 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $226,829,000 after purchasing an additional 642,694 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Popular by 395.0% in the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 429,197 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,224,000 after purchasing an additional 342,492 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Popular by 64.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 726,743 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,792,000 after purchasing an additional 286,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, rhino investment partners Inc lifted its position in Popular by 145.1% in the third quarter. rhino investment partners Inc now owns 478,004 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,119,000 after purchasing an additional 283,004 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Company Profile

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.