Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the three analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $79.00.

INDB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Independent Bank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of INDB stock traded down $0.72 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 420,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 283,093. 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 $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $64.10 and a 200-day moving average of $65.43. Independent Bank has a 52 week low of $45.11 and a 52 week high of $77.23.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, research analysts anticipate that Independent Bank will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.59 dividend. This is an increase from Independent Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.40%. Independent Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.21%.

Insider Activity at Independent Bank

In other 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 value of $44,819.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,495.48. The trade was a 4.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in INDB. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,318,650 shares of the bank's stock valued at $148,835,000 after acquiring an additional 36,335 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 8,987 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its position in shares of Independent Bank by 687.2% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 948,244 shares of the bank's stock valued at $60,868,000 after purchasing 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 fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 544,948 shares of the bank's stock worth $34,980,000 after purchasing an additional 21,289 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Independent Bank by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 469,359 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,128,000 after buying an additional 46,046 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

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.