Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Position Cut by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 613,025 shares of the bank's stock after selling 55,318 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Banco Santander were worth $2,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Banco Santander by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 605,173 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,086,000 after buying an additional 79,918 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Banco Santander by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,073,582 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,575,000 after acquiring an additional 26,697 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 33.1% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 129,555 shares of the bank's stock worth $661,000 after acquiring an additional 32,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 12.4% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 153,335 shares of the bank's stock valued at $782,000 after purchasing an additional 16,869 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.19% of the company's stock.

Banco Santander Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE SAN traded up $0.04 on Friday, hitting $6.73. 4,825,902 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,504,176. The company has a market capitalization of $101.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $6.45 and a 200 day moving average of $5.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83. Banco Santander, S.A. has a twelve month low of $4.27 and a twelve month high of $7.16.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.21. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. As a group, analysts expect that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.1152 dividend. This is an increase from Banco Santander's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. Banco Santander's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SAN. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Banco Santander Company 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.