Scotia Capital Inc. Purchases 208,872 Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Scotia Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 1,247.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 225,621 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 208,872 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $1,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Banco Santander by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,775,261 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,135,000 after acquiring an additional 3,413,685 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 11,875,594 shares of the bank's stock valued at $79,566,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774,449 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,953,176 shares of the bank's stock worth $100,106,000 after buying an additional 1,059,449 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 4,041.6% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 990,966 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,519,000 after buying an additional 967,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Banco Santander in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,319,000. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Banco Santander Trading Up 2.5%

SAN traded up $0.23 during trading on Friday, reaching $9.31. 5,172,400 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,864,722. Banco Santander, S.A. has a one year low of $4.43 and a one year high of $9.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $8.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.58 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Banco Santander Company 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.