Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Shares Sold by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. reduced its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,380 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 760 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 93.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,271,498 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,235,000 after acquiring an additional 615,591 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,072,619 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,654,000 after purchasing an additional 35,271 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 13.4% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,025,227 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,161,000 after purchasing an additional 120,793 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 17.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 819,475 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,707,000 after purchasing an additional 121,574 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 10.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 807,940 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,345,000 after purchasing an additional 75,596 shares during the period. 66.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of SASR opened at $33.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $33.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.19. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.52 and a twelve month high of $39.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.78 and a beta of 0.97.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.01). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 5.31%. On average, research analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is 302.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.25.

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.