Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 9,347 Shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,547 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,347 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.06% of Popular worth $3,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Popular by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,239 shares of the bank’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in shares of Popular by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Popular by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,953 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Popular by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,709 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,888,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Popular by 56.6% during 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 in the last quarter. 87.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Popular Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:BPOP opened at $83.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.71. Popular, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.23 and a twelve month high of $106.81.

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

Popular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s payout ratio is currently 32.71%.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other Popular news, EVP Eduardo J. Negron sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 32,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,418,721.32. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gilberto Monzon sold 9,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,017,666.90. The trade was a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BPOP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Popular from $116.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised Popular from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.57.

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.