Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 62.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 105,415 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 40,438 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SAN. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 1.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 143,585,152 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $732,284,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011,150 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,893,727 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $106,558,000 after buying an additional 5,290,236 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 9,101,145 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,501,000 after buying an additional 4,689,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Todd Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Banco Santander by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 8,896,192 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,567,000 after purchasing an additional 45,326 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on SAN shares. Morgan Stanley raised Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SAN opened at $6.48 on Tuesday. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 1 year low of $4.12 and a 1 year high of $6.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.19 billion, a PE ratio of 7.81, 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 current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $5.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.00.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 15.88%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.