Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Shares Sold by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,063,738 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 8,881 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.36% of Sandy Spring Bancorp worth $35,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 96.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 70,599 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,215,000 after purchasing an additional 34,735 shares during the period. Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1,296.9% in the 4th quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,572 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 11,672 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $2,989,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,799 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,759,000 after buying an additional 32,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 140.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,004 shares of the bank’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 7,600 shares during the period. 66.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a report on Thursday. They set a “sell” rating for the company.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:SASR opened at $27.87 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.93 and a beta of 0.96. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.79 and a 1 year high of $39.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 5.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 302.22%.

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.