JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 23,758 Shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Free Report) by 36.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 89,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 23,758 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.62% of Sierra Bancorp worth $2,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $216,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $385,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 9.7% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 16,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 1,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 301.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 12,690 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,563 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $110,987.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,409 shares in the company, valued at $386,540.35. The trade was a 22.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $35,328.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,157 shares in the company, valued at $133,024. The trade was a 20.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,393 shares of company stock worth $166,994. Company insiders own 11.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised Sierra Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 0.6 %

BSRR traded up $0.16 during trading on Monday, reaching $26.41. 59,105 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,153. The stock has a market cap of $365.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 0.76. Sierra Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $19.77 and a fifty-two week high of $35.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $27.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.27.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $36.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.51 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 19.90% and a return on equity of 11.55%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Sierra Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 35.59%.

About Sierra Bancorp

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.