Summit Financial LLC Buys Shares of 18,065 Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Summit Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 18,065 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $82,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SAN. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Banco Santander by 2,226.3% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 5,588 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Santander in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in Banco Santander during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Banco Santander Price Performance

Shares of Banco Santander stock opened at $5.88 on Friday. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52 week low of $4.27 and a 52 week high of $7.16. 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 stock has a market cap of $89.02 billion, a PE ratio of 7.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $6.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.31.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.1152 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This is an increase from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. Banco Santander’s dividend 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.