Grace & White Inc. NY Decreases Stock Holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

Grace & White Inc. NY cut its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR - Free Report) by 29.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,145 shares of the bank's stock after selling 23,700 shares during the period. Grace & White Inc. NY owned 0.13% of Sandy Spring Bancorp worth $1,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $370,000. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 20,119 shares of the bank's stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Evermay Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1,296.9% in the 4th quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,572 shares of the bank's stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 11,672 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 22,582 shares of the bank's stock valued at $761,000 after acquiring an additional 6,641 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 140.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,004 shares of the bank's stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 7,600 shares during the period. 66.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

SASR traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.65. 158,704 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 230,093. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $33.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.78 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.52 and a 1-year high of $39.55.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.01). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 2.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Sandy Spring Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 302.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "sell" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.