Ameriprise Financial Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its position in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 264,293 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 22,686 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $1,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SAN. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its stake in Banco Santander by 106.3% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 9,101,145 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,501,000 after purchasing an additional 4,689,461 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,775,261 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,135,000 after acquiring an additional 3,413,685 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,953,176 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $100,106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,449 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 4,041.6% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 990,966 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,519,000 after acquiring an additional 967,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,319,000. 9.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SAN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Stock Up 0.3%

SAN stock opened at $7.97 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 2.24. Banco Santander, S.A. has a one year low of $4.27 and a one year high of $8.08. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $7.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.96.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.1152 dividend. This is a boost from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a yield of 2.4%. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is 20.69%.

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.