Lafayette Investments Inc. Has $212,000 Position in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

Lafayette Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 84.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,744 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 36,759 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp were worth $212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 313,534 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,541,000 after acquiring an additional 43,987 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 69.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 148,921 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 60,850 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 432.5% during the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 192,533 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,690,000 after acquiring an additional 156,377 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 473,241 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,528,000 after acquiring an additional 25,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 349,036 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,091,000 after purchasing an additional 18,887 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:SASR traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $32.43. 59,450 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 340,796. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.74. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $19.27 and a one year high of $34.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 0.95.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $189.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 million. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.74% and a net margin of 11.54%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SASR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Sandy Spring Bancorp from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from $23.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

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.