Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Stock Position Boosted by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,631 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 349 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BPOP. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Popular by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,674 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,227,000 after acquiring an additional 4,044 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in Popular by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 104,087 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,790,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of Popular by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 20,966 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,972,000 after purchasing an additional 2,054 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Popular by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,430 shares of the bank’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 74,723 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,028,000 after buying an additional 948 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Popular Stock Performance

Popular stock opened at $103.69 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $97.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.50. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.60 and a 52 week high of $106.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Popular Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. This is a positive change from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is 32.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BPOP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.25.

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.