Popular, Inc. $BPOP Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 28.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 68,447 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 27,201 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Popular were worth $8,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Popular during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Popular by 198.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 537 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Popular by 117.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 540 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Popular by 84.2% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 593 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Popular during the 4th quarter worth $83,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In related news, Director Alejandro M. Sanchez sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.36, for a total value of $45,108.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,960 shares in the company, valued at $595,425.60. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Maria Cristin Gonzalez-Noguera sold 6,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total transaction of $920,762.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,415,870. 2.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on BPOP shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $155.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Popular from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Popular from $141.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $168.73.

Popular Stock Performance

NASDAQ BPOP opened at $152.77 on Friday. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $102.56 and a one year high of $153.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.86 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.62.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $816.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.54 million. Popular had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 14.53%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 15.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.