Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 56,148 Shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) by 75.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 56,148 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.12% of Sierra Bancorp worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BSRR. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 16,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 1,484 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 74,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 3,752 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $142,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P increased its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 21.6% during the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 36,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 6,431 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total value of $81,889.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 150,063 shares in the company, valued at $4,838,031.12. The trade was a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total transaction of $144,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 313,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,081,462.60. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,056 shares of company stock worth $244,741 in the last 90 days. 11.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:BSRR opened at $29.75 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $428.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.92. Sierra Bancorp has a twelve month low of $17.69 and a twelve month high of $35.13.

Sierra Bancorp Profile

Sierra Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Bank of the Sierra that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in California. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market demand accounts, time deposits, retirement accounts, and sweep accounts.