Fisher Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Fisher Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 138,271,287 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 5,313,865 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $630,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 197.0% during the fourth 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 boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 372,690 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 33.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,893,727 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $106,558,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,236 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 143.0% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 345,524 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 203,322 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 47.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 668,343 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,409,000 after acquiring an additional 214,868 shares in the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

Shares of Banco Santander stock opened at $6.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $96.75 billion, a PE ratio of 7.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 2.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.98. Banco Santander, S.A. has a one year low of $4.07 and a one year high of $6.50.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts expect that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander 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.