Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $647,000 in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 126,946 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $647,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SAN. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 12.4% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 153,335 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $782,000 after purchasing an additional 16,869 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 33.1% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 129,555 shares of the bank’s stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 32,211 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter worth about $117,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,073,582 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,575,000 after buying an additional 26,697 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of SAN stock opened at $4.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08. The firm has a market cap of $71.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $4.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.82. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 12-month low of $3.83 and a 12-month high of $5.27.

Banco Santander Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 3%. Banco Santander’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on SAN shares. StockNews.com raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th.

Banco Santander 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.