Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Upgraded to “Overweight” at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on SAN. StockNews.com lowered Banco Santander from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group upgraded Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

SAN opened at $4.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $72.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.76, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.14. Banco Santander has a 1-year low of $3.83 and a 1-year high of $5.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Banco Santander Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a yield of 3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is currently 20.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAN. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Banco Santander during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Banco Santander by 2.8% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 81,357 shares of the bank’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,248 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in Banco Santander by 16.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 20,308 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 2,822 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 4,824,760 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,352,000 after buying an additional 834,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 24,719 shares of the bank’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 3,563 shares during the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.