Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the three ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $79.00.

Several research firms recently issued reports on INDB. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (up from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Independent Bank from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

INDB stock opened at $67.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 0.77. Independent Bank has a 12-month low of $45.11 and a 12-month high of $77.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.94.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 6.57% and a net margin of 19.58%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Independent Bank will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is 50.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total value of $44,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,516 shares in the company, valued at $876,495.48. This represents a 4.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independent Bank

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Independent Bank in the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 105.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the bank’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 810.2% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,338 shares of the bank’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,911 shares of the bank’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 364.9% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 2,213 shares of the bank’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.