Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Position Boosted by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 77,067 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 7,823 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp were worth $2,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $115,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,725 shares of the bank’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 355,745 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,624,000 after acquiring an additional 9,434 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 100.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 114,056 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,444,000 after acquiring an additional 57,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,508 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,608 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ SASR opened at $22.32 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.94. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.27 and a 12-month high of $27.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $21.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.00.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $184.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $97.45 million. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 6.69%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.09%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on SASR shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment 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, Sandy Spring Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.