Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes Position in Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 11,441 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $413,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Independent Bank during the second quarter valued at approximately $584,333,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Independent Bank by 57.9% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,703,144 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,102,000 after purchasing an additional 624,833 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,232,467 shares of the bank’s stock worth $90,082,000 after purchasing an additional 20,278 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 17.6% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 946,006 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,435,000 after purchasing an additional 141,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 810,155 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,206,000 after buying an additional 120,362 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on INDB. Independent Research set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Independent Bank from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Hovde Group started coverage on Independent Bank in a research note on Friday, May 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Independent Bank from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Independent Bank currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.86.

Independent Bank Stock Up 0.6%

Independent Bank stock opened at $82.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 0.76. Independent Bank Corp. has a twelve month low of $63.33 and a twelve month high of $87.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.05 and a 200-day moving average of $80.57.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Independent Bank had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 20.31%.The company had revenue of $253.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $257.50 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Corp. will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 29th were issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 46.21%.

Insider Transactions at Independent Bank

In other news, Director Gerard F. Nadeau sold 5,307 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.69, for a total transaction of $449,449.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,431,853.83. This represents a 23.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas R. Venables sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.00, for a total value of $311,250.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,464,867. The trade was a 17.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Group, Inc (NASDAQ:INDB) is a bank holding company headquartered in McKinney, Texas, that provides a range of financial services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Independent Bank. Tracing its roots to the late 19th century, the company has grown from a single community bank into a regional financial institution serving individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Independent Bank Group became a bank holding company in 1983 and expanded its footprint through organic growth and strategic acquisitions.

The company’s primary business activities encompass retail and commercial banking, including deposit products, consumer and business lending and credit services.