STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]

STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY

Note 11 – Stockholders’ Equity

The Company’s Articles of Incorporation authorize 50,000,000 shares of capital stock (par value $1.00 per share). Issued shares have been classified as common stock. The Articles of Incorporation provide that remaining unissued shares may later be designated as either common or preferred stock.

The Company has a director stock purchase plan (the “Director Plan”) which commenced on May 1, 2004. Under the Director Plan, members of the board of directors may elect to use a portion (minimum 50%) of their annual retainer fee to purchase shares of Company stock. The Company has reserved 45,000 authorized but unissued shares of common stock for purchase under the plan. Purchases are made at the fair market value of the stock on the purchase date. At December 31, 2014, there were 26,386 shares available for issuance under the plan.

The Company has an employee stock purchase plan (the “Purchase Plan”) which was authorized on July 1, 2011. The Company has reserved 300,000 authorized but unissued shares of common stock for purchase under the current version of the plan. Shares are purchased at 85% of the fair market value on the exercise date through monthly payroll deductions of not less than 1% or more than 10% of cash compensation paid in the month. The Purchase Plan is administered by a committee of at least three directors appointed by the board of directors. At December 31, 2014, there were 203,523 shares available for issuance under this plan.

The Company re-approved the stock repurchase program in August 2013. The current program permits the repurchase of up to 5% of the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock or approximately 1,260,000 shares. Repurchases, which will be conducted through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions, will be made depending on market conditions and other factors. During 2014, 38,032 shares were repurchased for a total cost of $0.9 million. The stock repurchase program in effect prior to August 2013 permitted the repurchase of up to 3% of the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock or approximately 730,000 shares. No shares were repurchased during 2013 or 2012.

The Company has a dividend reinvestment plan that is sponsored and administered by Computershare Shareholder Services as independent agent, which enables current shareholders as well as first-time buyers to purchase and sell common stock of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. directly through Computershare at low commissions. Participants may reinvest cash dividends and make periodic supplemental cash payments to purchase additional shares.

Bank and holding company regulations, as well as Maryland law, impose certain restrictions on dividend payments by the Bank, as well as restricting extensions of credit and transfers of assets between the Bank and the Company. At December 31, 2014, the Bank could have paid additional dividends of $72.6 million to its parent company without regulatory approval. In conjunction with the Company’s long-term borrowing from Capital Trust, the Bank issued a note to Bancorp for $35.0 million which was outstanding at December 31, 2014. There were no other loans outstanding between the Bank and the Company at December 31, 2014and 2013, respectively.