Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Sells 97,872 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lowered its position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 90.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,411 shares of the bank's stock after selling 97,872 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC's holdings in Popular were worth $979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Popular in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in Popular by 56.7% in the fourth 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 grew its position in Popular by 56.6% in the fourth 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. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Popular in the fourth quarter worth $166,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Popular in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Popular stock opened at $104.46 on Thursday. Popular, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.23 and a 12-month high of $106.81. The company has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.60. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $91.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.46.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.30. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The company had revenue of $755.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $760.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. Popular's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. Popular's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Hovde Group cut their price target on shares of Popular from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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