Rhumbline Advisers Sells 4,644 Shares of Popular, Inc. $BPOP

Key Points

• Rhumbline Advisers has reduced its stake in Popular, Inc. by 5.0%, now holding 88,233 shares worth approximately $8.15 million.
• Popular, Inc. reported a quarterly EPS of $3.09, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.49, with revenues of $800.03 million.
• The company will pay a dividend of $0.1328 per share on September 30, with a current dividend payout ratio of 27.13%.

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 88,233 shares of the bank's stock after selling 4,644 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.13% of Popular worth $8,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Popular by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,164 shares of the bank's stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in Popular by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 40,316 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,792,000 after purchasing an additional 11,230 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in Popular by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 161,612 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,201,000 after purchasing an additional 5,404 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Popular by 140.8% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 201,331 shares of the bank's stock worth $18,937,000 after purchasing an additional 117,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Popular by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 107,990 shares of the bank's stock valued at $10,158,000 after acquiring an additional 23,370 shares during the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Popular from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Popular from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Popular in a report on Friday, August 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on Popular from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Popular from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $128.88.

Popular Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Popular stock traded up $2.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $125.52. The stock had a trading volume of 128,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 560,099. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.23 and a 52 week high of $128.66. The company has a market capitalization of $8.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $118.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.06.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.49. Popular had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 16.49%.The firm had revenue of $800.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.1328 dividend. Popular's payout ratio is 29.07%.

Insider Transactions at Popular

In related news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 18,001 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.47, for a total transaction of $2,240,584.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,083,495.31. This trade represents a 42.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.