Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 87,074 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,960 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SAN. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Banco Santander during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 2,226.3% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 5,588 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in Banco Santander in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Banco Santander during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

Shares of SAN stock opened at $6.91 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52 week low of $4.27 and a 52 week high of $7.16. The company has a market cap of $104.63 billion, a PE ratio of 8.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued 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 anticipate that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.1152 dividend. This is an increase from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a yield of 2.4%. Banco Santander’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SAN has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.