Meeder Asset Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 4,784 Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,784 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $117,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 11,785 shares of the bank’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,456 shares of the bank’s stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 9.8% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,176 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 8.2% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 17,344 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 50,876 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ SASR opened at $32.14 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.27 and a 12-month high of $32.38.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $184.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.60 million. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.41% and a net margin of 12.31%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from $23.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Sandy Spring Bancorp from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned 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.

About Sandy Spring Bancorp

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.