Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on BPOP. UBS Group began coverage on Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $113.00.

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Popular Trading Up 0.3 %

BPOP traded up $0.30 during trading on Thursday, reaching $91.82. 101,905 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 451,790. Popular has a 52 week low of $80.60 and a 52 week high of $106.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $97.98 and a 200 day moving average of $96.95. The stock has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Popular will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Popular's payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Popular news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 approximately $3,418,721.32. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Popular

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BPOP. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Popular by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,286,832 shares of the bank's stock worth $873,519,000 after buying an additional 56,222 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Popular by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,192,769 shares of the bank's stock valued at $394,373,000 after acquiring an additional 201,067 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Popular by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,056,377 shares of the bank's stock worth $207,475,000 after purchasing an additional 10,599 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Popular by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,908,406 shares of the bank's stock worth $179,505,000 after buying an additional 25,222 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Popular by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,418,729 shares of the bank's stock valued at $133,446,000 after purchasing an additional 515,798 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.