Quantbot Technologies LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 129.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,385 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,166 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in INDB. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Independent Bank in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,911 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Independent Bank by 364.9% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 2,213 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Independent Bank during the third quarter worth $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Independent Bank news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total value of $44,819.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,495.48. The trade was a 4.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of Independent Bank stock opened at $63.19 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $66.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Independent Bank Corp. has a 12-month low of $45.11 and a 12-month high of $77.23. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 0.77.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 6.57%. On average, equities analysts expect that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. This is a boost from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is presently 52.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

INDB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Independent Bank from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

About Independent Bank

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.