Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Sold by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. cut its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 86.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,776 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 58,303 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Popular were worth $825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Popular during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Popular by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $81,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Popular during the 4th quarter worth about $166,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BPOP. StockNews.com raised Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.25.

Popular Stock Up 0.2 %

Popular stock opened at $87.42 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.60 and a 52-week high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. Popular’s payout ratio is 32.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total value of $1,040,200.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.