Verition Fund Management LLC Makes New Investment in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 237,118 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $7,438,000. Verition Fund Management LLC owned about 0.53% of Sandy Spring Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SASR. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 11,785 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. First National Trust Co raised its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 10,050 shares of the bank’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,065 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $818,000 after buying an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.3% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 26,209 shares of the bank’s stock worth $822,000 after buying an additional 832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the third quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research report on Monday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.25.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Up 0.5 %

SASR opened at $37.68 on Monday. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.52 and a 12 month high of $39.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83 and a beta of 0.94.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $189.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 million. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 11.54%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 71.58%.

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.