Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,135,377 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 110,821 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $5,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 14,618 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 4,241 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 105,415 shares of the bank’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 40,438 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 422,967 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,929,000 after buying an additional 34,352 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Banco Santander by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 451,807 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,060,000 after buying an additional 13,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the fourth quarter valued at $315,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:SAN opened at $7.12 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 2.24. Banco Santander, S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $4.27 and a fifty-two week high of $7.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.1152 per share. 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 currently 19.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. 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 cut Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Banco Santander currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

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.