Invesco Ltd. Invests $242,000 in Sierra Bancorp $BSRR

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. made a new investment in Sierra Bancorp, acquiring 8,675 shares valued at approximately $242,000, representing about 0.06% of the company.
• Insider selling included EVP Michael Olague and Director Julie G. Castle, who sold 9,193 and 976 shares respectively, leading to a significant decrease in their holdings.
• Sierra Bancorp recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.3% for shareholders.

Invesco Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $242,000. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Sierra Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,920 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 98.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,386 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 4,659 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,871 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $291,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 12,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sierra Bancorp news, EVP Michael Olague sold 9,193 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.41, for a total transaction of $261,173.13. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,809 shares in the company, valued at $250,263.69. This represents a 51.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 976 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.25, for a total transaction of $28,548.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,044.25. The trade was a 23.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,169 shares of company stock worth $529,844 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Zacks Research lowered shares of Sierra Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of BSRR opened at $30.29 on Monday. Sierra Bancorp has a 52 week low of $22.42 and a 52 week high of $35.13. The firm has a market cap of $411.64 million, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $30.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 20.09% and a return on equity of 11.44%. The business had revenue of $39.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.47 million. On average, analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Sierra Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.60%.

Sierra Bancorp Profile

Sierra Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Bank of the Sierra that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in California. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market demand accounts, time deposits, retirement accounts, and sweep accounts.

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