4,103,760 Shares in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Purchased by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN – Get Rating) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,103,760 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $9,521,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SAN. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Banco Santander by 236.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 223,407 shares of the bank’s stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 157,003 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Banco Santander by 4.7% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 210,073 shares of the bank’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 9,342 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Banco Santander by 26.8% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 240,518 shares of the bank’s stock worth $814,000 after purchasing an additional 50,817 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Banco Santander by 163.6% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 129,832 shares of the bank’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 80,573 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Banco Santander by 60.4% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 714,160 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 269,055 shares during the period. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banco Santander Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE SAN opened at $3.52 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.40. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52 week low of $2.26 and a 52 week high of $4.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.12 billion, a PE ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.99.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.0631 per share. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 27th. This is a boost from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.06. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is 13.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SAN. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Banco Santander from €3.50 ($3.76) to €3.60 ($3.87) in a research note on Wednesday, December 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3.94.

About Banco Santander

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Banco Santander SA is a banking services company, which engages in the provision of banking services to individuals, companies, and institutions. It operates through the following segments: Europe, North America, South America, and Digital Consumer Bank. The Europe segment comprises business activities carried out in the region.