Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Shares Sold by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC cut its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 102,747 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,662 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp were worth $3,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 20,119 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. First National Trust Co boosted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 10,050 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,065 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.3% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. 66.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Down 3.7 %

NASDAQ SASR opened at $33.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.16. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.52 and a 12 month high of $39.55. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.49 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 302.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.