Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Stake Reduced by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 143,807,987 shares of the bank's stock after selling 3,171,991 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.89% of Banco Santander worth $595,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in Banco Santander by 770.4% during the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 7,722,405 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,036,000 after acquiring an additional 6,835,153 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Banco Santander in the third quarter worth about $3,488,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,397,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 239.8% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 653,167 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,704,000 after buying an additional 460,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,345,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.19% of the company's stock.

Banco Santander Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SAN traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $4.84. 1,502,773 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,245,604. The company has a market cap of $76.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.72, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.96, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 2.27. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 1 year low of $3.20 and a 1 year high of $5.17.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18. The business had revenue of $15.67 billion during the quarter. Banco Santander had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 10.95%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.1027 per share. This is a boost from Banco Santander's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.09. This represents a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Banco Santander's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.