Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Price Target to $135.00

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) had its price target trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the bank’s stock.

BPOP has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Hovde Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.56.

Popular Stock Performance

BPOP opened at $113.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $123.21 and a 200-day moving average of $111.63. Popular has a 52-week low of $78.23 and a 52-week high of $129.32.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $3.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $817.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $803.95 million. Popular had a return on equity of 13.46% and a net margin of 17.63%.The firm’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Popular will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a sep 25 dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $0.1328 dividend. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 18,001 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.47, for a total value of $2,240,584.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,083,495.31. This represents a 42.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steph & Co. bought a new position in shares of Popular during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Popular by 2,158.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 384 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Popular by 262.9% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 352 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Popular by 112.2% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 418 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of Popular during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

About Popular

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.