STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Equity [Abstract]

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

The Company’s Articles of Incorporation authorize 100,000,000 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 maintains an employee stock purchase plan (the “Purchase Plan”) that enables employees to purchase up to $25,000 of Company common stock each year at a discount. The Purchase Plan, which was initially authorized on July 1, 2011, was amended and restated as of November 18, 2020. As part of the amendment and restatement, an additional 700,000 shares of common stock were reserved to be issued, which is in addition to the 300,000 shares of common stock authorized for purchase under the previous version of the Purchase Plan. Under the Purchase Plan, shares are purchased at 85% of the lower of the fair market value of the common stock on the offering date or the purchase date, as defined in the Purchase Plan. Contributions are made 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, 2023, there were 546,264 shares available for issuance under this Purchase Plan.

On March 30, 2022, the Company's board of directors authorized a stock repurchase plan that permits the repurchase of up to $50.0 million of the Company's common stock. During 2022, the Company repurchased and retired 625,710 common shares at an average price of $39.93 per share for the total cost of $25.0 million. The Company did not repurchase any shares of its common stock during the year ended December 31, 2023. Under the current authorization, common stock with a total value of up to $25.0 million remains available to be repurchased.

The Company has a dividend reinvestment plan that is sponsored and administered by Computershare 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. Participants may reinvest cash dividends and make periodic supplemental cash payments to purchase additional shares.

Bank and bank holding company regulations, as well as Maryland law, impose certain restrictions on dividend payments by the Bank, as well as restrictions on extensions of credit and transfers of assets between the Bank and Bancorp. At December 31, 2023, the Bank could have paid additional dividends of $213.8 million to its parent company without regulatory approval. There were no loans outstanding between the Bank and Bancorp at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.