Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Decreases Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. $SAN

Key Points

• Crossmark Global Holdings cut its Banco Santander stake by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 149,936 shares and leaving it with 1,130,317 shares valued at about $13.26 million.
• Other institutions have been active in SAN, with several funds increasing positions significantly; hedge funds and other institutional investors now own 9.19% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Banco Santander, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus, even though the bank recently reported earnings of $0.27 per share, slightly below expectations.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lowered its stake in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,130,317 shares of the bank's stock after selling 149,936 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $13,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SAN. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the third quarter worth $93,811,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 2,038,075.5% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,643,158 shares of the bank's stock worth $63,438,000 after purchasing an additional 7,642,783 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 67.5% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,529,024 shares of the bank's stock worth $149,504,000 after purchasing an additional 5,856,034 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 225.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,100,768 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,976,000 after purchasing an additional 2,840,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 85.0% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,552,931 shares of the bank's stock worth $58,195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,551,675 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SAN. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Santander reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Banco Santander in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Banco Santander in a report on Monday, February 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Banco Santander from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Banco Santander Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE SAN opened at $12.29 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $11.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.53. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52-week low of $7.39 and a 52-week high of $13.24. The firm has a market cap of $180.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.73.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $17.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.66 billion. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 26.92%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.1473 dividend. This represents a yield of 255.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Banco Santander's payout ratio is presently 17.36%.

About Banco Santander

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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