Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Stake in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 727,838 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $3,319,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its position in Banco Santander by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 9,101,145 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,501,000 after purchasing an additional 4,689,461 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Banco Santander by 55.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,301,711 shares of the bank's stock worth $16,839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,449 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,953,176 shares of the bank's stock worth $100,106,000 after buying an additional 1,059,449 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 197.0% during the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 557,390 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 369,700 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,251,500 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,707,000 after purchasing an additional 197,087 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.19% of the company's stock.

Banco Santander Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SAN traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $7.00. 1,907,505 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,475,222. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 1 year low of $4.27 and a 1 year high of $7.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 2.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.53. The company has a market cap of $105.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.43, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.81.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The company 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%. Equities analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.1152 dividend. This is a positive change from Banco Santander's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. This represents a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Banco Santander's payout ratio is 19.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on SAN shares. StockNews.com upgraded Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy".

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.