First Trust Advisors LP Grows Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 899.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 399,656 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 359,660 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Banco Santander were worth $1,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in Banco Santander by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 28,990 shares of the bank's stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 17,230 shares of the bank's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 2,032 shares in the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 17,220 shares of the bank's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 2,148 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 50,013 shares of the bank's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 33,952 shares of the bank's stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 2,392 shares in the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SAN shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Banco Santander from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Banco Santander Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of SAN traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $7.42. 3,533,456 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,526,629. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52 week low of $4.27 and a 52 week high of $7.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83. The company has a market cap of $112.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.94, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.97.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The business had revenue of $17.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.94 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.1152 per share. This represents a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This is an increase from Banco Santander's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. Banco Santander's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.69%.

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.