Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $3.03 Million Investment in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 32,253 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,034,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BPOP. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Popular during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Popular by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the third quarter worth approximately $81,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Popular in the 4th quarter valued at $166,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,418,721.32. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Popular Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of BPOP stock opened at $91.52 on Friday. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.60 and a 52 week high of $106.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $97.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. Analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Popular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.00.

Popular 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.