Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $88.58 and last traded at $87.6850, with a volume of 33,784 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $86.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

INDB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Independent Bank from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $92.43.

Independent Bank Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 24.27%. The firm had revenue of $261.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $261.27 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 28th were paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 28th. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is presently 37.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas R. Venables sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.00, for a total value of $311,250.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,867. This represents a 17.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independent Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ballast Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Independent Bank in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Independent Bank in the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 836 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Independent Bank by 27.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 898 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Independent Bank by 15.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Corp. is the bank holding company for Rockland Trust Company, a full-service community bank headquartered in Rockland, Massachusetts. Through Rockland Trust, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses, municipalities and nonprofit organizations.

Its offerings include consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, cash-management and treasury services, online and mobile banking, and wealth management.