Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Sold by Williamson Legacy Group LLC

Williamson Legacy Group LLC cut its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,556 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 495 shares during the quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Popular during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Popular by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,709 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,888,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Popular by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 697,389 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,596,000 after acquiring an additional 93,262 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Popular by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 15,839 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Popular by 647.6% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 19,775 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 17,130 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of BPOP opened at $100.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization 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. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $80.60 and a one year high of $106.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $99.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.97.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Popular news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays increased 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Popular presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.25.

About Popular

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.