Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 184 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lessened its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 204,715 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 184 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Popular were worth $19,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Popular by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 697,389 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,596,000 after acquiring an additional 93,262 shares during the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $9,115,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Popular by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 548,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,954,000 after purchasing an additional 84,839 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Popular during the third quarter worth $8,385,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Popular by 304.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 99,861 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,042,000 after purchasing an additional 75,164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Trading Down 1.8 %

BPOP opened at $91.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.60 and a 12 month high of $106.81. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.95.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Popular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Popular presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.00.

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.