Lafayette Investments Inc. Decreases Position in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

Lafayette Investments Inc. decreased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,417 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,558 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp were worth $1,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SASR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $15,999,000. North Reef Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $9,319,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 408.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 405,821 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,697,000 after acquiring an additional 326,036 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 26.0% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,544,678 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,131,000 after acquiring an additional 318,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 10.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,741,687 shares of the bank’s stock worth $123,156,000 after acquiring an additional 261,172 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ SASR traded up $0.41 on Friday, hitting $20.36. 41,893 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 298,034. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.27 and a twelve month high of $27.90. The company has a market capitalization of $916.20 million, a P/E ratio of 7.31 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.74 and a 200 day moving average of $22.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 17.43%. The business had revenue of $182.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.68%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 49.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on SASR shares. Stephens cut their price target on Sandy Spring Bancorp from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Sandy Spring Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.00.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Profile

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.