Kovack Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) by 45.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,776 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $72,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SAN. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 791.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 294,036 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,970,000 after acquiring an additional 261,066 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Banco Santander by 284.9% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 670,513 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,057,000 after buying an additional 496,309 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its stake in Banco Santander by 30.5% in the first quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 11,875,594 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,566,000 after buying an additional 2,774,449 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Banco Santander by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,655,351 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,108,000 after buying an additional 440,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Banco Santander by 48,283.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 72,575 shares of the bank’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 72,425 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

Banco Santander Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE SAN opened at $8.97 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.98. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 12-month low of $4.27 and a 12-month high of $8.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.99.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. Banco Santander had a net margin of 16.92% and a return on equity of 12.26%. The business had revenue of $17.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.94 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on SAN. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Banco Santander in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander 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.