Quest Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP)

Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) by 112.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,803 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Independent Bank worth $806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IBCP. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Independent Bank during the 3rd quarter worth $344,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Independent Bank by 28.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 349,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,660,000 after acquiring an additional 77,874 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Independent Bank during the third quarter worth about $27,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Independent Bank by 36.8% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 4,210 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of IBCP opened at $37.72 on Friday. Independent Bank Co. has a 52-week low of $20.50 and a 52-week high of $39.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $787.97 million, a PE ratio of 12.83 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.70.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.11). Independent Bank had a net margin of 19.93% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The firm had revenue of $77.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Co. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IBCP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $27.00 to $37.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gavin A. Mohr bought 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $36.71 per share, for a total transaction of $29,368.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,082.02. The trade was a 4.48 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Christina Keller sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.85, for a total value of $45,990.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $136,754.55. This represents a 25.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Independent Bank Profile

Independent Bank Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Independent Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in rural and suburban communities in Michigan. It offers checking and savings accounts, commercial lending, direct and indirect consumer financing, mortgage lending, and safe deposit box services.