Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 301,994 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership cut its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 52.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 273,699 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 301,994 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Popular were worth $25,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Popular by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $81,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter valued at $166,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Popular during the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total transaction of $1,040,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, 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 company insiders.

Popular Trading Down 9.7 %

BPOP opened at $84.01 on Friday. Popular, Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.60 and a 1-year high of $106.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 9.81, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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