2,775 Shares in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) Acquired by Oxford Asset Management LLP

Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,775 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its holdings 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. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $81,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter worth approximately $166,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of Popular 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on BPOP. Wells Fargo & Company raised Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $125.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Hovde Group dropped their price objective on Popular from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.14.

Popular Trading Up 1.4 %

BPOP stock traded up $1.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $96.75. 458,548 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 489,479. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.22. Popular, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.23 and a 12 month high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $755.46 million for 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%. Popular's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.90%.

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.