Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 214,868 Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 668,343 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 214,868 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $3,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Banco Santander by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,637,838 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,583,000 after buying an additional 321,772 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 38.1% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 891,187 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,126,000 after acquiring an additional 245,765 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 5,066,760 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,459,000 after purchasing an additional 242,000 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,211,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in Banco Santander by 143.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 355,625 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,647,000 after purchasing an additional 209,348 shares during the period. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

SAN opened at $4.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $4.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.86. The company has a market capitalization of $73.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.77, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.14. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 52 week low of $3.83 and a 52 week high of $5.27.

Banco Santander Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on SAN. UBS Group raised Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

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.