The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 505 Shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,933 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 505 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp were worth $719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Associated Banc Corp bought a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.3% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 26,209 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 679,924 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,329,000 after purchasing an additional 11,117 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $25,345,000 after acquiring an additional 75,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter worth $314,000. Institutional investors own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Down 0.6 %

SASR opened at $36.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $35.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.47. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.52 and a fifty-two week high of $39.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.06). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 11.54% and a return on equity of 5.71%. The business had revenue of $189.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 71.58%.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Company 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.