Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,365 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,248 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.13% of Independent Bank worth $3,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Independent Bank by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,017,400 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,170,000 after acquiring an additional 8,987 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Independent Bank by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 544,948 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,980,000 after purchasing an additional 21,289 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Independent Bank by 59.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 338,640 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,024,000 after buying an additional 126,791 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Independent Bank by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 206,079 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,228,000 after buying an additional 5,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Independent Bank by 58.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 188,385 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,092,000 after buying an additional 69,753 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Independent Bank Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:INDB opened at $65.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.59. Independent Bank Corp. has a 52-week low of $45.11 and a 52-week high of $77.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is a positive change from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total transaction of $44,819.20. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on INDB. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $78.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Independent Bank 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.