Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Shares Bought by Smartleaf Asset Management LLC

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 56.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 603 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $57,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Popular by 235.5% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 332,093 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,299,000 after buying an additional 233,119 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Popular by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 697,389 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,596,000 after acquiring an additional 93,262 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Popular during the third quarter valued at approximately $9,115,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Popular by 18.3% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 548,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,954,000 after purchasing an additional 84,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Popular in the third quarter worth approximately $8,385,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BPOP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Popular in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.25.

Popular Price Performance

Shares of BPOP opened at $87.26 on Tuesday. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $80.60 and a one year high of $106.81. The company has a 50-day moving average of $99.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.83. The stock has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. Analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s payout ratio is 32.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.