Banco Santander, S.A. $SAN Position Raised by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 170.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,349,567 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 1,481,207 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.'s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $15,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 30.5% during the first quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 11,875,594 shares of the bank's stock worth $79,566,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774,449 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,775,261 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,135,000 after purchasing an additional 3,413,685 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 5,429,260 shares of the bank's stock worth $24,757,000 after purchasing an additional 362,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,655,351 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,108,000 after purchasing an additional 440,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 6.5% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,935,314 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,967,000 after purchasing an additional 118,508 shares in the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banco Santander Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:SAN traded down $0.07 on Monday, reaching $9.58. 1,097,325 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,675,074. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.06. Banco Santander, S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $4.43 and a fifty-two week high of $9.70. The business's 50-day moving average is $8.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.41.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The bank reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $17.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Banco Santander had a net margin of 17.30% and a return on equity of 11.98%. Analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SAN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Kepler Capital Markets cut Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Banco Santander in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Banco Santander presently has an average rating of "Moderate 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.