Banc Funds Co. LLC Reduces Stock Position in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)

Banc Funds Co. LLC trimmed its holdings in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Free Report) by 38.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,731 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 142,552 shares during the period. Banc Funds Co. LLC owned about 1.58% of Sierra Bancorp worth $6,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSRR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 89,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,592,000 after acquiring an additional 23,758 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $385,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 301.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 12,690 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Sierra Bancorp by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 321,257 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,278,000 after purchasing an additional 11,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Sierra Bancorp by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 36,730 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 10,489 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Sierra Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In other news, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,563 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $110,987.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,409 shares in the company, valued at $386,540.35. This trade represents a 22.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $35,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,157 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $133,024. The trade was a 20.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,393 shares of company stock valued at $166,994 in the last three months. 11.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Up 0.7 %

BSRR traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.43. 41,803 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,968. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $351.70 million, a P/E ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 0.76. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $28.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.32. Sierra Bancorp has a one year low of $18.93 and a one year high of $35.13.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 19.90% and a return on equity of 11.55%. As a group, analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. This is a boost from Sierra Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Sierra Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.59%.

About Sierra Bancorp

Sierra Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Bank of the Sierra that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in California. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market demand accounts, time deposits, retirement accounts, and sweep accounts.