O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,251,500 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 197,087 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Banco Santander were worth $5,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. FMR LLC raised its position in Banco Santander by 33.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,893,727 shares of the bank's stock valued at $106,558,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,236 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $41,501,000 after purchasing an additional 4,689,461 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 55.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,301,711 shares of the bank's stock worth $16,839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,449 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,319,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.19% of the company's stock.

Banco Santander Trading Down 10.6 %

SAN traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5.88. 12,449,399 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,295,988. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $6.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.02 billion, a PE ratio of 7.08, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52-week low of $4.27 and a 52-week high of $7.16.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The company 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 a positive change 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 payout ratio is presently 19.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.