Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Shares Sold by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lowered its position in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,534 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 5,089 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAN. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 28,990 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 17,230 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 2,032 shares in the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 17,220 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 2,148 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 50,013 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its position in Banco Santander by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 33,952 shares of the bank’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 2,392 shares in the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on SAN shares. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded 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 assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Trading Down 10.6 %

SAN opened at $5.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.02 billion, a PE ratio of 7.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.81. 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, S.A. has a 12-month low of $4.27 and a 12-month high of $7.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $6.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.31.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 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, research analysts expect 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 given 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 dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Banco Santander’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.28%.

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.