Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Acquires 362,500 Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,429,260 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 362,500 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Banco Santander were worth $24,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 2,226.3% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 5,588 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.19% of the company's stock.

Banco Santander Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SAN opened at $6.73 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $101.90 billion, a PE ratio of 8.10, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $6.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.42. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 1-year low of $4.27 and a 1-year high of $7.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.1152 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This is an increase from Banco Santander's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. Banco Santander's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.

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