Brokerages Set Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Target Price at $79.00

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

A number of brokerages have weighed in on INDB. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $78.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective 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.

Insider Transactions at Independent Bank

In related news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of Independent Bank stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total transaction of $44,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $876,495.48. This trade represents a 4.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Independent Bank

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,318,650 shares of the bank’s stock worth $148,835,000 after purchasing an additional 36,335 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Independent Bank by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,017,400 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,170,000 after purchasing an additional 8,987 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in Independent Bank by 687.2% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 948,244 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,868,000 after buying an additional 827,793 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 544,948 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,980,000 after buying an additional 21,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Independent Bank by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 469,359 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,128,000 after buying an additional 46,046 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Independent Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ INDB opened at $53.62 on Wednesday. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.39. Independent Bank has a 1-year low of $45.11 and a 1-year high of $77.23. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.84.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts anticipate that Independent Bank will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is presently 52.21%.

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.