Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Reduces Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. cut its holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,400 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAN. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the fourth quarter worth $95,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander by 239.8% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 653,167 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,704,000 after purchasing an additional 460,923 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Banco Santander by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,322 shares of the bank’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 3,907 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in Banco Santander during the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,000. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barclays upgraded Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th.

Banco Santander Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE SAN traded up $0.06 on Wednesday, hitting $5.05. 4,184,878 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,224,037. Banco Santander, S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $3.20 and a fifty-two week high of $5.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.15. The company has a market cap of $79.92 billion, a PE ratio of 7.19, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.24.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 19.29%. The company had revenue of $15.67 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.1027 dividend. This is a boost from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.2%. Banco Santander’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.14%.

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.