Sei Investments Co. Has $30.70 Million Holdings in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP)

Sei Investments Co. decreased its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 326,346 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 45,691 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.46% of Popular worth $30,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Popular by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 697,389 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,596,000 after acquiring an additional 93,262 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Popular in the third quarter worth $9,115,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Popular by 18.3% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 548,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,954,000 after purchasing an additional 84,839 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Popular during the third quarter worth $8,385,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Popular by 304.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 99,861 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,042,000 after buying an additional 75,164 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular Trading Up 0.3 %

Popular stock opened at $93.12 on Wednesday. Popular, Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.60 and a 1-year high of $106.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.04. The company has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts forecast that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s payout ratio is presently 32.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Popular in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their target price on Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Popular has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.00.

Insider Activity at Popular

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

About Popular

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.