Gabelli Funds LLC Buys 20,148 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 167.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 32,148 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,148 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $3,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steph & Co. purchased a new stake in Popular during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Popular by 2,158.8% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 384 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Popular by 112.2% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 418 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in shares of Popular during the first quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 3,925.0% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 483 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Popular in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Popular in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised Popular from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Popular from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Popular from $135.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Popular presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.84, for a total transaction of $114,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $299,043.36. This trade represents a 27.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard L. Carrion sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.50, for a total value of $2,837,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 193,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,907,770. This represents a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Up 3.0%

NASDAQ BPOP opened at $120.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.00 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $116.28 and its 200 day moving average is $115.90. Popular, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.23 and a twelve month high of $129.32.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.10. Popular had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.63%.The business had revenue of $720.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $803.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.55%.

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.