Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) CEO Sells $6,140,050.00 in Stock

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) CEO Javier Ferrer sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.43, for a total value of $6,140,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,925,135.54. This represents a 26.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Popular Price Performance

NASDAQ BPOP opened at $177.03 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $167.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.87. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.74 and a 52-week high of $179.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.61.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $846.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $878.41 million. Popular had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 21.37%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 15.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BPOP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $198.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Popular in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays raised their target price on Popular from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $201.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $178.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.92.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Popular

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Popular by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,352 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,715,000 after buying an additional 17,729 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Popular in the first quarter valued at $257,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Popular by 60.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 223,530 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,647,000 after acquiring an additional 84,327 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Popular during the first quarter worth $207,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Popular during the second quarter valued at $252,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.