25,643 Shares in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 25,643 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,646,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,206 shares of the bank’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Independent Bank by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 32,458 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,083,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Independent Bank by 0.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 83,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,911,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC boosted its position in Independent Bank by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 23,394 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 6.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,556 shares of the bank’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Independent Bank news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total value of $44,819.20. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Independent Bank Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of INDB opened at $62.48 on Wednesday. Independent Bank Corp. has a twelve month low of $45.11 and a twelve month high of $77.23. The stock has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $66.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.76.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. This is a boost from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on INDB shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $78.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Independent Bank from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

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.