OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Boosts Holdings in Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC)

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC - Free Report) by 46.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 167,091 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 52,714 shares during the quarter. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC's holdings in Banco Santander-Chile were worth $3,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,897 shares of the bank's stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,089 shares of the bank's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 492,868 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 601.6% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,810 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 18,415 shares of the bank's stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 6.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BSAC. Bank of America cut shares of Banco Santander-Chile from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Banco Santander-Chile from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander-Chile presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.33.

Banco Santander-Chile Stock Down 0.4%

BSAC stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.08. 361,124 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 300,812. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. Banco Santander-Chile has a 1-year low of $18.19 and a 1-year high of $25.27. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $23.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.19. The company has a market cap of $11.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.67.

Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $767.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $717.38 billion. Banco Santander-Chile had a return on equity of 19.15% and a net margin of 19.16%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Banco Santander-Chile will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Santander-Chile Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were issued a $1.349 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 4.8%. This is a boost from Banco Santander-Chile's previous annual dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. Banco Santander-Chile's payout ratio is presently 43.23%.

Banco Santander-Chile Company Profile

Banco Santander-Chile, together with its subsidiaries, provides commercial and retail banking services in Chile. It operates through Retail Banking, Middle-Market, Corporate Investment Banking, and Corporate Activities segments. The company offers debit and credit cards, checking accounts, and savings products; consumer, automobile, commercial, mortgage, and government-guaranteed loans; and Chilean peso and foreign currency-denominated loans to finance various commercial transactions, trade, foreign currency forward contracts, and credit lines, as well as mortgage financing services.