California Public Employees Retirement System Reduces Stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,870 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 12,195 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.19% of Popular worth $13,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Popular during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its stake in Popular by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 56.6% in the fourth 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 purchased a new position in shares of Popular during the third quarter worth approximately $81,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Popular during the 4th quarter worth $166,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BPOP. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com raised Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group assumed coverage on Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.00.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BPOP opened at $82.50 on Friday. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $78.59 and a one year high of $106.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.64, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s fifty day moving average is $96.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.64.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released 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 return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Popular Company 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.