Fmr LLC Buys 5,290,236 Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

FMR LLC boosted its position in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 33.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,893,727 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 5,290,236 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned 0.13% of Banco Santander worth $106,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SAN. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 1.4% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 143,585,152 shares of the bank's stock valued at $732,284,000 after buying an additional 2,011,150 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 5.0% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 5,066,760 shares of the bank's stock valued at $23,459,000 after acquiring an additional 242,000 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 6.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,091,293 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,313,000 after purchasing an additional 181,558 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 3.2% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,690,877 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,623,000 after purchasing an additional 53,039 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Banco Santander by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,399,228 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,136,000 after buying an additional 73,204 shares during the period. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Banco Santander Stock Up 4.3 %

NYSE:SAN traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $4.89. The company had a trading volume of 4,313,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,753,497. The firm has a market cap of $77.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.12. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $4.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08. Banco Santander, S.A. has a twelve month low of $3.83 and a twelve month high of $5.27.

Banco Santander Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Banco Santander's payout ratio is 18.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on SAN. UBS Group raised Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Banco Santander from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th.

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.