Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 4,022 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,107 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 4,022 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Popular were worth $3,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Popular by 23.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,352 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,715,000 after acquiring an additional 17,729 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Popular during the 1st quarter valued at $257,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Popular by 60.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 223,530 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,647,000 after purchasing an additional 84,327 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in Popular during the 1st quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Popular in the 2nd quarter worth about $252,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $142.63 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $129.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.63. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $78.23 and a one year high of $149.31.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.36. Popular had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 13.87%. The company had revenue of $815.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Popular from $146.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Popular from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Credit Suisse Group set a $156.00 price target on shares of Popular in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Hovde Group increased their price objective on Popular from $153.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $155.73.

Insider Activity

In other Popular 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,604 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 2,360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total transaction of $312,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 57,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,611,992.50. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,360 shares of company stock worth $3,265,040. 2.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.