Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 173,444 Shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR – Get Rating) by 2,091.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 181,737 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 173,444 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp were worth $6,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 181.5% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 760 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $42,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 246.1% during the fourth quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,412 shares of the bank’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,715 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,401 shares of the bank’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 926.1% in the third quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 2,904 shares of the bank’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 2,621 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SASR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. TheStreet downgraded shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from $32.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, April 24th. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Up 0.4 %

SASR opened at $19.92 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.10. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.47 and a twelve month high of $42.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $893.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 9th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.83%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

About Sandy Spring Bancorp

(Get Rating)

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial banking, retail banking, and trust services to individuals and businesses. It operates through the following segments: Community Banking, Insurance, and Investment Management. The Community Banking segment conducts its operations through Sandy Spring Bank and involves delivering financial products and services, including various loan and deposit products to both individuals and businesses.