Sapient Capital LLC Invests $178,000 in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 42,928 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $178,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Banco Santander during the fourth quarter worth about $95,000. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,322 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 3,907 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the fourth quarter valued at $77,000. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 95,471 shares of the bank’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 4,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its position in Banco Santander by 14.4% during the third quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 28,286 shares of the bank’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 3,552 shares in the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Banco Santander Price Performance

SAN opened at $4.66 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.11. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 1-year low of $3.20 and a 1-year high of $5.05. The stock has a market cap of $73.67 billion, a PE ratio of 6.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.24.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18. Banco Santander had a net margin of 19.29% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The company had revenue of $15.67 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.