Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $24.76 Million Stock Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN - Free Report) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,429,260 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 362,500 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Banco Santander were worth $24,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SAN. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 899.2% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 399,656 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,822,000 after purchasing an additional 359,660 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in Banco Santander by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 257,032 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 52,337 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Banco Santander by 82.0% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 23,567 shares of the bank's stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 10,615 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 122,924 shares of the bank's stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 12,649 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 284.9% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 670,513 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,057,000 after purchasing an additional 496,309 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SAN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Banco Santander from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy".

Banco Santander Stock Performance

SAN stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $7.25. 4,504,447 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,475,642. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83. Banco Santander, S.A. has a twelve month low of $4.27 and a twelve month high of $7.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.49.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 15.88%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.1152 per share. This is a boost 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 is Wednesday, April 30th. Banco Santander's dividend payout ratio is 19.28%.

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.