First Trust Advisors LP Has $1.82 Million Stake in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 899.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 399,656 shares of the bank's stock after buying 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.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SAN. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Banco Santander by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 28,990 shares of the bank's stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 17,230 shares of the bank's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 2,032 shares in the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 17,220 shares of the bank's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 2,148 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 33,952 shares of the bank's stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 2,392 shares during the period. 9.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banco Santander Price Performance

Shares of Banco Santander stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Thursday, reaching $7.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,653,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,518,859. Banco Santander, S.A. has a one year low of $4.27 and a one year high of $7.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.61. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $111.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.97.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.94 billion. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.1152 per share. This is a positive change from Banco Santander's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a yield of 2.4%. Banco Santander's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SAN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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.