American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 701,932 Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. $SAN

Key Points

• American Century Companies increased its stake in Banco Santander by 19.4% in Q3, buying 701,932 shares to own 4,316,844 shares valued at about $45.24 million.
• Banco Santander beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $0.28 (vs. $0.24 expected) and revenue of $18.90 billion (vs. $15.89 billion), and trades at a market cap of about $164.8 billion and a PE of 10.96.
• The bank announced a $0.1473 per-share dividend payable May 8 (record date May 4), and analysts' consensus rating on the stock is a "Moderate Buy" (one Strong Buy, four Buy, three Hold, one Sell).

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 19.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,316,844 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 701,932 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $45,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 75.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,500 shares of the bank's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.19% of the company's stock.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

Shares of SAN stock opened at $11.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $12.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.00. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52 week low of $5.54 and a 52 week high of $13.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.78 billion, a PE ratio of 10.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.71.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $18.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.89 billion. Banco Santander had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 12.14%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Santander Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a $0.1473 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. This represents a yield of 254.0%. Banco Santander's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SAN shares. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Zacks Research lowered Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Banco Santander from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Kepler Capital Markets raised Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Banco Santander Profile

Banco Santander, SA NYSE: SAN is a Spanish multinational banking group headquartered in Santander, Spain. Founded in 1857, the bank has grown from a regional institution into one of Europe's largest banking groups, operating a diversified financial services platform that serves retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and large corporate clients. Santander is publicly listed in Spain and maintains American Depositary Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SAN.

The group's core activities include retail and commercial banking—offering deposit accounts, payment services, mortgages, personal and auto loans, and small business financing—alongside corporate and investment banking services for larger institutional clients.

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