Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Stock Holdings Raised by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,438 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,774 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.05% of Sandy Spring Bancorp worth $571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SASR. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $4,778,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 5.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 473,241 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,528,000 after buying an additional 25,546 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 2.8% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 55,500 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 198.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 63,574 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,549,000 after acquiring an additional 42,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 4.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,470,621 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,182,000 after buying an additional 108,703 shares during the last quarter. 66.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ SASR opened at $33.00 on Wednesday. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $19.27 and a one year high of $34.19. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.50 and a beta of 0.95.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $184.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SASR. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.