Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR - Free Report) by 93.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,271,498 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 615,591 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 2.82% of Sandy Spring Bancorp worth $41,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SASR. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 432.5% during the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 192,533 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,690,000 after buying an additional 156,377 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 5.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 473,241 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,528,000 after acquiring an additional 25,546 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 10.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 807,940 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,345,000 after purchasing an additional 75,596 shares in the last quarter. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $4,778,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1,199.7% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 694,867 shares of the bank's stock worth $16,927,000 after purchasing an additional 641,402 shares in 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 $35.40 on Wednesday. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.52 and a twelve month high of $39.55. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company's 50-day moving average price is $35.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.77.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $189.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Sandy Spring Bancorp's payout ratio is 71.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "sell" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sandy Spring Bancorp has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.