Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $1.65 Million Position in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 25,643 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,646,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.06% of Independent Bank at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Independent Bank by 105.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in Independent Bank by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,911 shares of the bank’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Independent Bank by 364.9% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 2,213 shares of the bank’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 1,737 shares during the period. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC acquired a new position in Independent Bank during the 4th quarter worth about $250,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report 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 research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of 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.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of Independent Bank stock opened at $62.48 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.76. Independent Bank Corp. has a 1-year low of $45.11 and a 1-year high of $77.23. 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 company has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.77.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 EPS 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is an increase from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.21%.

Insider Activity

In other Independent Bank news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total value of $44,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,516 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.