AXQ Capital LP Makes New Investment in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,383 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 0.8% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 19,690 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,974,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Popular by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 4,354 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,337,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the third quarter worth approximately $506,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group started coverage on Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.00.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $92.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.07. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.60 and a 12 month high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total value of $1,040,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.