Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 9,198 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,812 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,198 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC owned about 0.05% of Popular worth $3,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. TCW Group Inc. grew its stake in Popular by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 94,815 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,507,000 after buying an additional 12,494 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $105,769,000 after buying an additional 71,782 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Popular by 284.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 72,403 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,260,000 after buying an additional 53,590 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the bank’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 4,354 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Popular by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Popular Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ BPOP opened at $91.37 on Friday. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.60 and a 52 week high of $106.81. The stock has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $98.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.15.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts expect that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. Popular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on BPOP shares. StockNews.com raised Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group started coverage on Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.00.

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.