Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Stake Lowered by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 264,929 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 19,480 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $1,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Banco Santander in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in Banco Santander in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Banco Santander in the third quarter worth $45,000. Finally, CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Banco Santander in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

NYSE SAN opened at $6.78 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $102.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.16, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.11. Banco Santander, S.A. has a twelve month low of $4.27 and a twelve month high of $6.83. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.1152 per share. This represents a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Banco Santander’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SAN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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 analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.