Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Shares Acquired by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR - Free Report) by 36.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,799 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 32,223 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.27% of Sandy Spring Bancorp worth $3,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SASR. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $105,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $117,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter worth $170,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $217,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a "sell" rating for the company. 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.com, Sandy Spring Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.25.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

SASR traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $33.96. 269,967 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 341,850. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.52 and a 52-week high of $39.55. The company's fifty day moving average price is $35.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.99.

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

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Sandy Spring Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.58%.

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.