Stifel Financial Corp Sells 39,940 Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Stifel Financial Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 565,233 shares of the bank's stock after selling 39,940 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in Banco Santander were worth $2,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAN. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Banco Santander by 2,226.3% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 5,588 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in Banco Santander in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. 9.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SAN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Banco Santander Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SAN traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $7.42. 1,876,099 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,513,073. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $6.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.62. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52 week low of $4.27 and a 52 week high of $7.46. The company has a market cap of $112.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.1152 dividend. This is an increase from Banco Santander's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Banco Santander's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.69%.

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.