CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Reduces Stake in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,557,999 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 136,984 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $49,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. increased its position in Banco Santander by 197.0% during the 4th quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 557,390 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 369,700 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Banco Santander by 111.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 706,184 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,602,000 after buying an additional 372,690 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Banco Santander by 143.0% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 345,524 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,757,000 after buying an additional 203,322 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Banco Santander by 33.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,893,727 shares of the bank’s stock worth $106,558,000 after buying an additional 5,290,236 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Banco Santander by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 105,415 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 40,438 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

Banco Santander stock opened at $6.79 on Monday. Banco Santander, S.A. has a twelve month low of $4.27 and a twelve month high of $7.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83. The company has a market capitalization of $102.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.17, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $6.08 and its 200 day moving average is $5.26.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 15.88%. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.1152 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This is a boost from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. This represents a yield of 2.4%. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is 19.28%.

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.