Morgan Stanley Upgrades Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) to “Overweight”

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th.

Banco Santander Trading Down 0.6 %

SAN stock opened at $4.61 on Tuesday. Banco Santander has a twelve month low of $3.83 and a twelve month high of $5.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.14. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.87.

Banco Santander Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a yield of 3%. Banco Santander’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in Banco Santander during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,893,727 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $106,558,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,236 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter worth $22,500,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 143,585,152 shares of the bank’s stock worth $732,284,000 after purchasing an additional 2,011,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in Banco Santander by 20.9% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 4,824,760 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,352,000 after purchasing an additional 834,200 shares during the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.