Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Stock Holdings Lifted by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 146,164 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 12,432 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.20% of Popular worth $13,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Popular by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,239 shares of the bank's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in shares of Popular by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Popular by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,953 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,709 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,888,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Popular by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Popular Trading Down 1.8 %

Popular stock traded down $1.51 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $82.50. 1,634,294 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 461,924. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.64. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.59 and a fifty-two week high of $106.81. The firm has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 14.15%. Analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Popular's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $984,672.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BPOP. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Popular from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Popular presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $113.00.

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.