Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $76.00.

INDB has been the topic of several research reports. Independent Research set a $80.00 price objective on Independent Bank in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Independent Bank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Independent Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th.

Independent Bank Price Performance

Independent Bank stock opened at $77.12 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $70.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76 and a beta of 0.81. Independent Bank has a 52 week low of $52.15 and a 52 week high of $78.00.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The bank reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 7.19% and a net margin of 16.64%.The company had revenue of $175.25 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that Independent Bank will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 29th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 29th. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.42%.

Insider Transactions at Independent Bank

In related news, Director Ken S. Ansin sold 53,000 shares of Independent Bank stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.06, for a total transaction of $3,660,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 53,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,711,146.28. The trade was a 49.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas R. Venables sold 405 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total value of $29,941.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,519,779.01. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 200,405 shares of company stock worth $13,971,482 in the last quarter. 0.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Independent Bank

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Independent Bank by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 25,252 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Independent Bank by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 549,547 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,429,000 after buying an additional 4,599 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Independent Bank during the 1st quarter worth $13,414,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Independent Bank by 3.3% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,049 shares of the bank’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Independent Bank by 0.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,339,253 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $146,554,000 after acquiring an additional 20,603 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Independent Bank Company Profile

Independent Bank Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Rockland Trust Company that provides commercial banking products and services to individuals and small-to-medium sized businesses in the United States. The company provides interest checking, money market, and savings accounts, as well as demand deposits and time certificates of deposit.