HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 143.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 345,524 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 203,322 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Banco Santander were worth $1,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 13.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,341,733 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 159,610 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 111.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 706,184 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,602,000 after purchasing an additional 372,690 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 33.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,893,727 shares of the bank's stock worth $106,558,000 after buying an additional 5,290,236 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 47.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 668,343 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,409,000 after buying an additional 214,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 467.9% during the third quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 235,177 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,199,000 after buying an additional 193,767 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.19% of the company's stock.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

NYSE:SAN traded up $0.06 on Friday, reaching $4.91. 1,937,446 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,681,054. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $77.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.12. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52 week low of $3.83 and a 52 week high of $5.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.84.

Banco Santander Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 3%. Banco Santander's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.