Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Shares Purchased by Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 250,177 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares during the quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $1,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 111.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 5,290,236 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Banco Santander by 143.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 40,438 shares in the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

Shares of SAN stock opened at $6.88 on Tuesday. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 1-year low of $4.27 and a 1-year high of $7.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83. The company has a market capitalization of $104.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.12.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 15.88%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.1152 per share. This is an increase from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is currently 19.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SAN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note 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. StockNews.com raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

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.