Congress Asset Management Co. Purchases 12,951 Shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 191,541 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 12,951 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 0.42% of Sandy Spring Bancorp worth $6,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $29,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $170,000. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $217,000. CWM LLC raised its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 27.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,086 shares of the bank's stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 66.2% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the bank's stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 3,168 shares during the period. 66.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SASR traded down $1.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 213,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 243,327. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $33.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.32. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $19.52 and a one year high of $39.55. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.27 and a beta of 0.97.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.01). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 5.31%. On average, research analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Sandy Spring Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 302.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "sell" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sandy Spring Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.