Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 188,991 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 71.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,387 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 188,991 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Popular were worth $7,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BPOP. TCW Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Popular by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 94,815 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,507,000 after acquiring an additional 12,494 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Popular by 7.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,054,849 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,769,000 after purchasing an additional 71,782 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Popular by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the bank’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 4,354 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position 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 worth $3,553,000 after buying an additional 35,699 shares in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This represents a 19.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 directly owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Popular Stock Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ BPOP opened at $91.52 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77. Popular, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.60 and a 52 week high of $106.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.95.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.47. Popular had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 11.89%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Popular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. UBS Group started coverage on Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Popular has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.00.

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.