Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 13,504 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 33.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,374 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,504 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.08% of Popular worth $5,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BPOP. Angeles Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Popular during the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 594.2% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 5,595 shares of the bank’s stock worth $526,000 after buying an additional 4,789 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Popular by 80.5% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 26,735 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 11,927 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Popular during the fourth quarter worth about $166,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Popular

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

BPOP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.25.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of BPOP opened at $106.31 on Wednesday. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $80.60 and a one year high of $106.81. The company has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $98.03 and a 200-day moving average of $97.55.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS 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%. Analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.