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

Fisher Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,271,287 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 5,313,865 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.87% of Banco Santander worth $630,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SAN. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander Trading Up 0.2 %

Banco Santander stock opened at $6.39 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $96.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.69, a PEG 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. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 1 year low of $4.07 and a 1 year high of $6.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.98.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last released 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Banco Santander Company 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.