Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 98,316 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 74.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 33,071 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 98,316 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Popular were worth $4,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Popular by 56.2% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,962,871 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $376,314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,452 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Popular in the 4th quarter valued at $104,955,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Popular by 2,752.6% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 312,447 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,684,000 after acquiring an additional 301,494 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Popular by 12,382.7% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 258,517 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,191,000 after acquiring an additional 256,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Popular by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 954,968 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,290,000 after acquiring an additional 244,108 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Popular Trading Up 0.4%

BPOP stock opened at $153.66 on Tuesday. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.56 and a 12 month high of $155.12. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $146.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.22. The stock has a market cap of $9.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.62.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $816.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.54 million. Popular had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 14.53%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 15.14 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.16%.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction of $45,108.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Alejandro M. Ballester sold 23,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $3,450,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,188,200. This trade represents a 39.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,415,870. Company insiders own 2.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on BPOP shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $135.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Popular from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $141.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $168.73.

About Popular

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.