Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Stake Trimmed by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 732,344 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 13,197 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.63% of Sandy Spring Bancorp worth $17,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $117,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 18.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 775,252 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,885,000 after purchasing an additional 120,996 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 432.5% in the second quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 192,533 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,690,000 after buying an additional 156,377 shares during the period. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 5.3% in the second quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 282,026 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,870,000 after buying an additional 14,197 shares during the period. 66.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp stock opened at $32.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.06. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.27 and a 52-week high of $34.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.08. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 6.41%. The firm had revenue of $184.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Sandy Spring Bancorp from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from $23.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Profile

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Sandy Spring Bank that provides commercial and retail banking, mortgage, private banking, and trust services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It offers financial products and services, including various loan and deposit products.