Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Grows Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. $SAN

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 471.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,797 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 50,149 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Binnacle Investments Inc grew its stake in Banco Santander by 96.2% in the third quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 3,227 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 75.0% in the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Banco Santander from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Banco Santander in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Banco Santander currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Banco Santander Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:SAN opened at $11.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.84 and a 200-day moving average of $11.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.76. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52 week low of $5.54 and a 52 week high of $13.24.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $17.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.89 billion. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 12.14% and a net margin of 18.85%. Analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Banco Santander Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.1473 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 254.0%. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is 18.81%.

About Banco Santander

Banco Santander, SA (NYSE: SAN) is a Spanish multinational banking group headquartered in Santander, Spain. Founded in 1857, the bank has grown from a regional institution into one of Europe’s largest banking groups, operating a diversified financial services platform that serves retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and large corporate clients. Santander is publicly listed in Spain and maintains American Depositary Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SAN.

The group’s core activities include retail and commercial banking—offering deposit accounts, payment services, mortgages, personal and auto loans, and small business financing—alongside corporate and investment banking services for larger institutional clients.