Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Shares Purchased by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,230 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,032 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $79,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SAN. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in Banco Santander in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Echo45 Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Banco Santander in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:SAN opened at $6.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.66 billion, a PE ratio of 7.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $5.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.96. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 1 year low of $4.07 and a 1 year high of $6.50.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. Analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

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.