Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 53.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,102 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 12,949 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $249,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Banco Santander by 2,226.3% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 5,588 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Santander during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. WealthCollab LLC increased its position in shares of Banco Santander by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 7,801 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Prospect Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 9.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

Shares of Banco Santander stock opened at $8.10 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $122.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.76, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.15. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 12 month low of $4.27 and a 12 month high of $8.13.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.22. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The company had revenue of $17.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.94 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SAN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Banco Santander in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Banco Santander currently has a consensus 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.