Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Shares Acquired by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,104 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp were worth $548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SASR. North Reef Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $9,319,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 408.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 405,821 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,697,000 after purchasing an additional 326,036 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 269,547 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,776,000 after purchasing an additional 92,175 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 62.9% in the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 226,813 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,861,000 after purchasing an additional 87,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,432,995 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,709,000 after purchasing an additional 65,841 shares in the last quarter. 66.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SASR opened at $21.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $21.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.93. The stock has a market cap of $961.65 million, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.94. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.27 and a 1-year high of $27.90.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 6.69%. The business had revenue of $184.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $97.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.36%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sandy Spring Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.50.

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.