Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Position Lifted by Natixis Advisors L.P.

Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,106,340 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 177,692 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.'s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $4,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Banco Santander by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 192,244 shares of the bank's stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 7,816 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 17.5% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 109,851 shares of the bank's stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 16,371 shares during the period. Finally, Choate Investment Advisors purchased a new position in Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter valued at $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Banco Santander from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Barclays raised Banco Santander from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 25th.

Banco Santander Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SAN traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $5.03. 2,565,510 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,921,111. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $4.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.96, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $79.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.99, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.19. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 1 year low of $3.20 and a 1 year high of $5.17.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.1027 per share. This is a positive change from Banco Santander's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.2%. Banco Santander's payout ratio is 19.44%.

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.