Creative Planning Acquires 159,610 Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,341,733 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 159,610 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $6,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Banco Santander by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,316,066 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,370,000 after purchasing an additional 203,274 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 20.9% in the first 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. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Banco Santander by 2.3% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 249,397 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,207,000 after acquiring an additional 5,634 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 216.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 294,147 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 201,134 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 216,836 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,163 shares during the period. 9.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, UBS Group raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th.

Banco Santander Price Performance

Shares of SAN opened at $4.96 on Thursday. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 1-year low of $3.52 and a 1-year high of $5.27. The company has a market capitalization of $78.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.88.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.87 billion during the quarter. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 11.42%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Santander Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Banco Santander’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Banco Santander Company 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.