Xponance Inc. Buys 311 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,754 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Popular were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Popular by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 697,389 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,596,000 after purchasing an additional 93,262 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $9,115,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 548,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,954,000 after buying an additional 84,839 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,385,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Popular by 304.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 99,861 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,042,000 after buying an additional 75,164 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BPOP shares. Barclays increased their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total transaction of $1,040,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at $3,418,721.32. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $93.20 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $98.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $80.60 and a one year high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. On average, analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.71%.

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.