Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 61,750 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 27.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 283,987 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,750 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Popular were worth $23,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,420 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the 4th quarter valued at $90,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Popular during the 3rd quarter worth $206,000. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total transaction of $391,793.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,260,092.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 4,641 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.42, for a total transaction of $391,793.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,260,092.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Luis E. Cestero sold 599 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.65, for a total value of $51,304.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,272,208.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of BPOP stock opened at $86.90 on Thursday. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.32 and a fifty-two week high of $89.70. The company has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $84.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.63.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 36.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BPOP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Popular from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Popular from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Popular from $96.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $103.00) on shares of Popular in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.89.

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.