Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 22,059 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Two Sigma Investments LP reduced its position in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 249,693 shares of the bank's stock after selling 22,059 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP owned approximately 0.35% of Popular worth $23,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Popular by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,099 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,699 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in shares of Popular by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 104,087 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,790,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Popular by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,674 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,227,000 after purchasing an additional 4,044 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Popular by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,631 shares of the bank's stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 1,719.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 37,775 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,553,000 after buying an additional 35,699 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BPOP shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Hovde Group decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $125.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Popular in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.43.

Popular Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $102.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.92 and a 200 day moving average of $95.97. Popular, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.23 and a 52-week high of $106.81.

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

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Popular's payout ratio is presently 28.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 500 shares of Popular stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.43, for a total transaction of $52,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $376,365.72. The trade was a 12.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

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.

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