Bank of America Corp DE Raises Stock Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,655,351 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 440,676 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE's holdings in Banco Santander were worth $12,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 197.0% during the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 557,390 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,542,000 after buying an additional 369,700 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 105,415 shares of the bank's stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 40,438 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Banco Santander during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,319,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in Banco Santander by 284.9% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 670,513 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,057,000 after purchasing an additional 496,309 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in Banco Santander by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 227,478 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 92,987 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SAN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Banco Santander Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Banco Santander stock traded up $0.14 on Tuesday, hitting $8.05. 2,027,188 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,697,964. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83. The company has a market cap of $121.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.69, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $7.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.87. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52 week low of $4.27 and a 52 week high of $8.05.

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

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.1152 per share. This represents a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Banco Santander's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Banco Santander's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.69%.

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.