Verition Fund Management LLC Acquires 22,355 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 629,537 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,355 shares during the period. Popular accounts for approximately 0.3% of Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Verition Fund Management LLC owned 0.87% of Popular worth $63,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BPOP. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 249.1% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 32,845 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,904,000 after purchasing an additional 23,436 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 10.4% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 88,379 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,815,000 after buying an additional 8,317 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 70.7% in the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 82,321 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,280,000 after buying an additional 34,107 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in shares of Popular during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,104,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Popular during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,283,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BPOP shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Popular from $117.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Popular from $105.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Popular from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.88.

Popular Price Performance

NASDAQ BPOP opened at $99.72 on Friday. Popular, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.23 and a 1 year high of $105.01. The company has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $96.57 and a 200 day moving average of $94.60.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.17). Popular had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 11.35%. The company had revenue of $736.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.62 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This is a positive change from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.70%.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total value of $347,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,490,403.40. This trade represents a 12.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total value of $178,320.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $325,569.72. The trade was a 35.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

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.