Capital International Investors Purchases 5,856,034 Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. $SAN

Key Points

• Capital International Investors increased its stake in Banco Santander by 67.5%, buying 5,856,034 shares to hold 14,529,024 shares (~0.10% of the company) valued at about $149.5 million after the latest 13F filing.
• Banco Santander beat expectations for the quarter, reporting $0.28 EPS versus a $0.24 consensus and revenue of $18.90 billion versus $15.89 billion, with a net margin of 18.85% and ROE of 12.14%.
• Banco Santander declared a $0.1473 dividend payable May 8 (record/ex-dividend date May 4); the article reports a yield of 254.0% and a dividend payout ratio of 20.79%.

Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 67.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,529,024 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 5,856,034 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned approximately 0.10% of Banco Santander worth $149,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the third quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the third quarter worth $27,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Santander in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in Banco Santander by 75.0% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in Banco Santander during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. 9.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Banco Santander Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE SAN opened at $11.39 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.15. The firm has a market cap of $169.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.71. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $12.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.05. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 12-month low of $5.54 and a 12-month high of $13.24.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $18.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.89 billion. Banco Santander had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 12.14%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is Monday, May 4th. This represents a yield of 254.0%. Banco Santander's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Barclays downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. DZ Bank cut shares of Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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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