Raymond James & Associates Increases Position in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 239.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 653,167 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 460,923 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates' holdings in Banco Santander were worth $2,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 26,844 shares of the bank's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 2,781 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Banco Santander by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,163 shares of the bank's stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 3,035 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in Banco Santander by 17.6% in the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 22,688 shares of the bank's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 3,393 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Banco Santander by 3.6% in the third quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 101,391 shares of the bank's stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 3,528 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in Banco Santander by 9.1% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 42,466 shares of the bank's stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 3,552 shares during the period. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barclays upgraded Banco Santander from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 25th.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

SAN remained flat at $4.66 on Monday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,469,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,997,475. Banco Santander, S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $3.20 and a fifty-two week high of $5.05. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $4.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.24, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $73.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.22.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 19.29%. The firm had revenue of $15.67 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.1027 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Banco Santander's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.09. Banco Santander's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.14%.

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.