Sierra Bancorp $BSRR Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) by 5.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 359,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,362 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Sierra Bancorp were worth $12,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BSRR. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Sierra Bancorp by 71.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 24,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 10,046 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $784,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 19,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 3.0% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 60,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Sierra Bancorp by 13.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 1,177 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

BSRR stock opened at $40.76 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $533.14 million, a PE ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 0.77. Sierra Bancorp has a 1 year low of $26.49 and a 1 year high of $43.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.30.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $38.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.59 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 22.37%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 30.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sierra Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Christopher G. Treece sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total value of $381,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,492,647.10. This trade represents a 20.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Vonn R. Christenson sold 1,053 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total transaction of $40,024.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 189 shares in the company, valued at $7,183.89. This trade represents a 84.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $954,108. Company insiders own 11.83% of the company’s stock.

About Sierra Bancorp

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ: BSRR) is a bank holding company headquartered in Porterville, California. The company operates through its banking subsidiary, offering a full suite of financial services to individual and commercial clients. With a community-focused approach, Sierra Bancorp emphasizes relationship banking and local market expertise.

Its core business activities include deposit-taking and lending. On the deposit side, Sierra Bancorp provides checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts.