Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Given New $110.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) had its target price raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $100.00 to $110.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

BPOP has been the subject of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Popular from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group started coverage on Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Popular from $112.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment 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, Popular has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.63.

Popular Stock Performance

Popular stock opened at $103.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.81. Popular has a fifty-two week low of $80.60 and a fifty-two week high of $106.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $97.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.35.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 12.36%. Sell-side analysts predict that Popular will post 8.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Popular news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total transaction of $178,320.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $325,569.72. This represents a 35.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz Castellvi sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.16, for a total transaction of $347,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,115 shares in the company, valued at $2,490,403.40. The trade was a 12.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Popular

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in Popular by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,056,377 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $207,475,000 after purchasing an additional 10,599 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Popular by 7.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $105,769,000 after acquiring an additional 71,782 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Popular by 8.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 902,931 shares of the bank’s stock worth $90,537,000 after acquiring an additional 67,620 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in Popular by 3.7% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 629,537 shares of the bank’s stock worth $63,124,000 after acquiring an additional 22,355 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Popular by 18.3% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 548,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,954,000 after acquiring an additional 84,839 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Popular Company 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.