R Squared Ltd Buys New Position in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,924 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $610,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BPOP. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 1.9% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,004,676 shares of the bank’s stock worth $164,948,000 after acquiring an additional 18,647 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Popular by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 556,630 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,684,000 after acquiring an additional 110,887 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Popular by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 465,720 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,486,000 after purchasing an additional 35,226 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Popular in the 2nd quarter worth $54,916,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Popular by 100.9% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 272,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,602,000 after purchasing an additional 136,984 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of BPOP opened at $158.50 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $159.74 and a 200-day moving average of $154.61. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $109.01 and a one year high of $179.24. The company has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.63.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $4.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $874.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $904.43 million. Popular had a return on equity of 16.15% and a net margin of 22.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.14 EPS. Analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 16.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is 22.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Popular from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on Popular from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down from $198.00) on shares of Popular in a report on Monday, October 26th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Popular from $192.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their target price on Popular from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.42.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, VP Adorno Rodriguez sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total transaction of $101,274.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $420,624.68. This trade represents a 19.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Popular Profile

Popular, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Founded in 1893, it provides banking and other financial services primarily in Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland. Its principal subsidiary, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, serves individuals and businesses with consumer and commercial banking, mortgage lending, and related financial services. Popular also operates Popular Bank in the mainland United States and provides auto financing through Popular Auto. Ignacio Alvarez is Popular’s president and chief executive officer.