Barclays PLC Boosts Stock Position in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 284.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 670,513 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 496,309 shares during the period. Barclays PLC's holdings in Banco Santander were worth $3,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 2,226.3% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 5,588 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in Banco Santander in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Banco Santander Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of Banco Santander stock traded up $0.19 on Friday, hitting $7.16. The company had a trading volume of 5,697,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,496,284. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 1 year low of $4.27 and a 1 year high of $7.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 2.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.66 and a 200-day moving average of $5.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.81.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.22. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 15.88%. The company had revenue of $17.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.94 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.1152 per share. This is an increase from Banco Santander's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. Banco Santander's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SAN has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy".

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.