Virtu Financial LLC Invests $1.14 Million 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 purchased a new position in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 170,756 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,144,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the first quarter worth $375,000. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 13.6% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 42,670 shares of the bank's stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 5,094 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 47.2% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 89,549 shares of the bank's stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 28,721 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 170.6% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,349,567 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,742,000 after buying an additional 1,481,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 11.2% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 38,405 shares of the bank's stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 3,856 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.19% of the company's stock.

Banco Santander Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:SAN opened at $9.32 on Tuesday. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 1-year low of $4.43 and a 1-year high of $9.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.29.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Banco Santander

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.

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