Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 206,079 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 5,792 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.49% of Independent Bank worth $13,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Independent Bank by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,017,400 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,170,000 after purchasing an additional 8,987 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Independent Bank by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 523,659 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,964,000 after purchasing an additional 22,919 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Independent Bank by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 338,640 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,024,000 after purchasing an additional 126,791 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Independent Bank by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 283,661 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,773,000 after purchasing an additional 28,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Independent Bank by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 150,042 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,631,000 after purchasing an additional 16,504 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Price Performance

Shares of Independent Bank stock opened at $68.41 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.13 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $66.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.13. Independent Bank Corp. has a 12 month low of $45.11 and a 12 month high of $77.23.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last announced 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 return on equity of 6.57% and a net margin of 19.58%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is 50.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 12,516 shares in the company, valued at $876,495.48. This trade represents a 4.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on INDB shares. StockNews.com raised Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Independent Bank from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Independent Bank currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.00.

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.