Lafayette Investments Inc. Sells 3,558 Shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

Lafayette Investments Inc. decreased its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,417 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,558 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc. owned about 0.11% of Sandy Spring Bancorp worth $1,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 290.4% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,054 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the second quarter worth $30,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 4,565.2% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,073 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 30.0% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 57.7% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,112 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp stock traded up $0.41 on Friday, reaching $20.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 41,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 298,034. The company has a market capitalization of $916.20 million, a P/E ratio of 7.31 and a beta of 0.94. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.27 and a 52-week high of $27.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $182.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is 49.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on Sandy Spring Bancorp from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.