Martingale Asset Management L P Lowers Stock Holdings in Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Martingale Asset Management L P reduced its position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 19.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 125,143 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 30,225 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Popular were worth $15,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in Popular in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Popular by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Popular in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in Popular in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Popular by 198.3% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 537 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Popular

In related news, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 300 shares of Popular stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.36, for a total transaction of $45,108.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $595,425.60. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Maria Cristin Gonzalez-Noguera sold 6,200 shares of Popular stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total transaction of $920,762.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,255 shares in the company, valued at $1,671,480.05. The trade was a 35.52% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,500 shares of company stock worth $4,415,870. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Popular from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Popular from $155.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Popular from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.73.

Popular Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $160.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.32. Popular, Inc. has a twelve month low of $102.56 and a twelve month high of $161.26.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $816.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.54 million. Popular had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 14.53%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.56 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 15.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 22.16%.

Popular 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.