8,903 Shares in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Acquired by Inspire Advisors LLC

Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,903 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 11,785 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,176 shares of the bank’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,316 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,386,000 after buying an additional 1,578 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ SASR opened at $32.14 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.79. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.27 and a 12-month high of $32.38. 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 (NASDAQ:SASR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SASR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Sandy Spring Bancorp from $23.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.