Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Rating Increased to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on SAN. StockNews.com downgraded Banco Santander from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group upgraded Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

Shares of SAN stock opened at $4.62 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $73.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.77, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.14. Banco Santander has a 52-week low of $3.83 and a 52-week high of $5.27. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $4.89 and its 200 day moving average is $4.86.

Banco Santander Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 33.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,893,727 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $106,558,000 after buying an additional 5,290,236 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter valued at $22,500,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Banco Santander by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 143,585,152 shares of the bank’s stock worth $732,284,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011,150 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in Banco Santander by 20.9% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 4,824,760 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,352,000 after purchasing an additional 834,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

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.