Sei Investments Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 547,543 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 17,015 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $2,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Banco Santander during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 5,588 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Banco Santander in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander Price Performance

NYSE:SAN opened at $5.88 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.31. The stock has a market cap of $89.02 billion, a PE ratio of 7.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.81. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52 week low of $4.27 and a 52 week high of $7.16. 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, 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SAN. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander presently has an average 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.