Heritage Investors Management Corp Invests $281,000 in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

Heritage Investors Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,338 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 399,192 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,457,000 after acquiring an additional 47,309 shares in the last quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 133.6% during the fourth quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 365,391 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,317,000 after acquiring an additional 209,000 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 191,541 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,457,000 after acquiring an additional 12,951 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $4,921,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $370,000. Institutional investors own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:SASR opened at $31.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.33 and a beta of 0.97. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.52 and a 12-month high of $39.55.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.01). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 5.31%. On average, analysts anticipate that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.30%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 302.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp in a report on Friday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sandy Spring Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.25.

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.