Cerity Partners LLC Sells 3,603 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 37.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,943 shares of the bank's stock after selling 3,603 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Popular were worth $569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in Popular by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Popular by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Popular during the third quarter worth about $81,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Popular during the fourth quarter worth about $166,000. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Price Performance

BPOP traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $95.60. 347,073 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 619,278. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.23 and a 52 week high of $106.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $91.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $755.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $760.45 million. Popular had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the firm's 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 owns 32,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BPOP. Wells Fargo & Company raised Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Hovde Group decreased their price target on shares of Popular from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Popular has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.14.

Popular Company 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.