Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Makes New Investment in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 19,767 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,245,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BPOP. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 187,671 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,369,000 after purchasing an additional 17,148 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Popular by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,405,575 shares of the bank’s stock worth $175,057,000 after purchasing an additional 64,778 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Popular by 8.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 465,720 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,486,000 after buying an additional 35,226 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Popular during the fourth quarter worth $104,955,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Popular during the second quarter valued at about $54,916,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Popular Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of BPOP stock opened at $171.32 on Friday. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.74 and a 12 month high of $179.24. The firm has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $171.43 and a 200-day moving average of $154.35.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.63. Popular had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The business had revenue of $846.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $878.41 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 15.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This is a boost from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Luis Cestero sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.36, for a total value of $1,499,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,013 shares in the company, valued at $2,824,052.68. This trade represents a 34.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lidio Soriano sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total transaction of $523,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 107,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,727,340. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 53,561 shares of company stock worth $9,392,259. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Popular from $192.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $163.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $178.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Popular from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.08.

Popular Company Profile

Popular, Inc, headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a financial holding company and a leading provider of banking services in the United States mainland and Puerto Rico. Through its primary subsidiaries—Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and Popular Bank—the company delivers comprehensive commercial and consumer banking solutions. It offers deposit products, lending facilities, cash management services and payment-processing solutions designed for individuals, small businesses and large corporations.

The company’s product suite encompasses checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial mortgage loans, business lines of credit and credit cards.