Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Sold by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. trimmed its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,590 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 785 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Popular were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BPOP. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Popular in the 2nd quarter valued at about $444,000. Creative Planning boosted its position in Popular by 18.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,406 shares of the bank’s stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Popular during the second quarter worth approximately $569,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Popular by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,630 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,968,000 after acquiring an additional 5,287 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,874 shares of the bank’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total transaction of $178,320.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,332 shares in the company, valued at $325,569.72. This trade represents a 35.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,325 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,581. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Down 0.5 %

BPOP opened at $102.94 on Friday. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.60 and a 52-week high of $106.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $97.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.48. The company has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from Popular’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on BPOP. Barclays upped their target price on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.25.

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.