Virtus Advisers LLC Purchases 7,521 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Virtus Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 75.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,467 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,521 shares during the quarter. Popular comprises 1.0% of Virtus Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Virtus Advisers LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $2,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the bank’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Popular by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,309 shares of the bank’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Popular by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 321 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Popular by 5.7% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,458 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in Popular by 1.2% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 7,262 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $974,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other news, VP Adorno Rodriguez sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total value of $101,274.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $420,624.68. This represents a 19.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $157.88. 316,685 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 532,538. The firm has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.63. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.01 and a 52-week high of $179.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.75.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $4.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $874.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.43 million. Popular had a return on equity of 16.15% and a net margin of 22.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.14 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 16.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 22.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $171.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Popular from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 9th. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.00.

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.