Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Position Boosted by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 19.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,465 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,746 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Banco Santander by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,786,825 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,357,000 after buying an additional 892,960 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 5,066,760 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,459,000 after purchasing an additional 242,000 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,091,293 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,313,000 after purchasing an additional 181,558 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 106.2% during the 1st quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,691,945 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,189,000 after purchasing an additional 871,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,637,838 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,583,000 after purchasing an additional 321,772 shares in the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com lowered Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 22nd.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SAN opened at $5.01 on Friday. Banco Santander, S.A. has a one year low of $3.52 and a one year high of $5.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $4.84 and a 200-day moving average of $4.87. The company has a market capitalization of $79.29 billion, a PE ratio of 6.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.14.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.42% and a net margin of 15.35%. The company had revenue of $16.87 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 3%. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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.