RBF Capital LLC Cuts Holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

RBF Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 33.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,000 shares of the bank's stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. RBF Capital LLC's holdings in Popular were worth $941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Popular during the 4th quarter worth $79,842,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Popular by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,418,729 shares of the bank's stock worth $133,446,000 after buying an additional 515,798 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Popular by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,312,952 shares of the bank's stock worth $123,496,000 after buying an additional 459,231 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Popular by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,192,769 shares of the bank's stock worth $394,373,000 after buying an additional 201,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,990,000. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Popular Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ BPOP traded up $0.55 on Tuesday, reaching $96.65. 120,335 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 486,443. Popular, Inc. has a one year low of $78.23 and a one year high of $106.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.70 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $90.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.21.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.56 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $760.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Popular's payout ratio is 28.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total value of $1,040,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of Popular stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BPOP shares. StockNews.com cut Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Popular from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays reiterated 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Popular has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.14.

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.