T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Sells 374,973 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP - Free Report) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,917,746 shares of the bank's stock after selling 374,973 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 2.69% of Popular worth $180,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BPOP. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in Popular by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Popular by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at about $81,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter valued at about $166,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Popular in the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company's stock.

Popular Stock Performance

BPOP stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $96.65. 120,335 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 486,443. The firm has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $90.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.21. Popular, Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.23 and a 1-year high of $106.81.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $760.45 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Popular's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of Popular stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $984,672.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.02, for a total transaction of $1,040,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BPOP. Barclays reaffirmed 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Popular from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Hovde Group reduced their price objective on shares of Popular from $118.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.