QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,816,806 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 125,929 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $8,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Banco Santander in the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 85.3% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 19,776 shares of the bank’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 9,103 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in Banco Santander by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 55,829 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 7,299 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 8,896,192 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,567,000 after buying an additional 45,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Banco Santander by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 668,939 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,050,000 after acquiring an additional 34,867 shares during the period. 9.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SAN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley upgraded Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Trading Down 0.9 %

SAN stock opened at $6.38 on Friday. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 12-month low of $4.07 and a 12-month high of $6.50. The business’s 50-day moving average is $5.19 and its 200 day moving average is $4.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83. The stock has a market cap of $96.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.68, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.12.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 15.88%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.