NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 29,732 Shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

NFJ Investment Group LLC cut its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR - Free Report) by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 115,287 shares of the bank's stock after selling 29,732 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned 0.26% of Sandy Spring Bancorp worth $3,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 69.1% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 148,921 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,628,000 after buying an additional 60,850 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 432.5% during the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 192,533 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,690,000 after acquiring an additional 156,377 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 5.7% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,778,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 807,940 shares of the bank's stock worth $25,345,000 after buying an additional 75,596 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.90% of the company's stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Down 0.5 %

SASR traded down $0.18 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.58. 90,477 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 344,648. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $34.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.80. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.52 and a fifty-two week high of $39.55. The stock has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92 and a beta of 0.96.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Sandy Spring Bancorp's payout ratio is 71.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research note on Monday. They set a "sell" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.25.

Sandy Spring Bancorp 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.