Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Holdings Lowered by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,271,387 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 127,841 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $5,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 143,585,152 shares of the bank’s stock worth $732,284,000 after purchasing an additional 2,011,150 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,893,727 shares of the bank’s stock worth $106,558,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,236 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 106.3% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 9,101,145 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,501,000 after purchasing an additional 4,689,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Todd Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 8,896,192 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,567,000 after purchasing an additional 45,326 shares in the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SAN shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

Shares of SAN opened at $6.92 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $5.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.18. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52 week low of $4.27 and a 52 week high of $7.16. The company has a market capitalization of $104.78 billion, a PE ratio of 8.33, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. Research analysts expect that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.1152 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This is an increase from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. This represents a yield of 2.4%. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is presently 19.28%.

Banco Santander Profile

Banco Santander, SA provides various financial services worldwide. The company operates through Retail Banking, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, Wealth Management & Insurance, and PagoNxt segments. It offers demand and time deposits, mutual funds, and current and savings accounts; mortgages, consumer finance, loans, and various financing solutions; and project finance, debt capital markets, global transaction banking, and corporate finance services.