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

Sei Investments Co. lowered its stake in Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 326,346 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 45,691 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Popular were worth $30,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Popular in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in Popular by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 326 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Popular in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Popular by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Popular during the third quarter worth $81,000. 87.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BPOP shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Popular from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Popular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group started coverage on Popular in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Popular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Popular from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.00.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $984,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,017,666.90. This trade represents a 19.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Popular Stock Performance

Shares of BPOP stock opened at $93.12 on Wednesday. Popular, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.60 and a fifty-two week high of $106.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $98.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.04. The company has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.77.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts predict that Popular, Inc. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Popular’s dividend payout ratio is 32.71%.

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.