Banco Santander Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:SAN)

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors bought 4,108 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 229% compared to the average daily volume of 1,249 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SAN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Banco Santander Stock Up 3.6 %

NYSE:SAN traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $6.46. 7,852,858 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,452,422. Banco Santander has a one year low of $4.27 and a one year high of $7.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83. The company has a market cap of $97.81 billion, a PE ratio of 7.78, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $6.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.36.

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

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.1152 per share. This is a positive change from Banco Santander's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. This represents a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Banco Santander's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,953,176 shares of the bank's stock worth $100,106,000 after buying an additional 1,059,449 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,775,261 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,135,000 after acquiring an additional 3,413,685 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during 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 during the period. Finally, Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Banco Santander by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 8,896,192 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,567,000 after purchasing an additional 45,326 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.19% of the company's stock.

About Banco Santander

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.