Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 41,204 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 6,753 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $188,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 28,990 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Banco Santander by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 17,230 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 2,032 shares in the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 17,220 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 2,148 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 50,013 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 33,952 shares of the bank’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 2,392 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SAN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banco Santander presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

NYSE SAN opened at $6.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $97.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 2.24. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52-week low of $4.27 and a 52-week high of $7.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $6.37 and a 200-day moving average of $5.36.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.1152 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is presently 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.