Virtu Financial LLC Purchases New Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC invested approximately $1.14 million in Banco Santander by purchasing 170,756 shares in the first quarter.
• Banco Santander's stock price opened at $9.32, with a market capitalization of $138.66 billion, while analysts predict earnings per share of 0.83 for the year.
• As of recent ratings, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with two analysts rating it as hold and three as buy.

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 170,756 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,144,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,775,261 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,135,000 after acquiring an additional 3,413,685 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 30.5% in the first quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 11,875,594 shares of the bank's stock worth $79,566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,774,449 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 170.6% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,349,567 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481,207 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,953,176 shares of the bank's stock worth $100,106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 4,041.6% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 990,966 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,519,000 after acquiring an additional 967,039 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.19% of the company's stock.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

Shares of Banco Santander stock traded up $0.01 on Friday, hitting $9.63. The company had a trading volume of 2,653,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,836,558. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.06. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 1 year low of $4.43 and a 1 year high of $9.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.55 and a 200-day moving average of $7.38.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on SAN. Citigroup began coverage on Banco Santander in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

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.