Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 53.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,102 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 12,949 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Banco Santander by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 83,469 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 8,637 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Banco Santander by 791.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 294,036 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 261,066 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Banco Santander by 48,283.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 72,575 shares of the bank’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 72,425 shares during the period. Fulcrum Equity Management bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 86,172 shares of the bank’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 13,140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SAN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Banco Santander in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SAN opened at $8.10 on Friday. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52 week low of $4.27 and a 52 week high of $8.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.76, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.15. 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 (NYSE:SAN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.69 billion during 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%. On average, analysts expect that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.