Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 290,224 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 87.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,869 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 290,224 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Popular worth $3,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BPOP. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Popular by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,239 shares of the bank’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Popular by 4.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,749 shares of the bank’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its stake in Popular by 0.8% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 19,690 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 92,877 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,736,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Popular by 19.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,076 shares of the bank’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Popular Stock Up 0.1 %

Popular stock opened at $100.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $99.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.93. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.60 and a 52 week high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS 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, equities analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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, January 29th. UBS Group started 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.25.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.