Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Shares Acquired by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR - Free Report) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 937,531 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 129,591 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 2.08% of Sandy Spring Bancorp worth $31,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $204,000. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $217,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS acquired a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $228,000. Finally, Heritage Investors Management Corp acquired a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $281,000. 66.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "sell" rating for the company.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp stock traded up $0.27 on Friday, hitting $27.87. 2,059,482 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 333,933. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.52 and a 52-week high of $39.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.93 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50-day moving average is $30.38 and its 200 day moving average is $32.97.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 5.31%. Equities analysts anticipate that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.88%. Sandy Spring Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 302.22%.

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.