Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $62.35 Million Stake in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lowered its position in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,673,652 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 393,327 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $62,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Banco Santander during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Banco Santander by 2,226.3% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 5,588 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Banco Santander in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in Banco Santander in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

SAN opened at $6.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 2.24. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.66 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52-week low of $4.27 and a 52-week high of $7.16.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.21. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.1152 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Banco Santander’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

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.