Brokerages Set Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Target Price at $78.00

Shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Buy" from the three ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $78.00.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Independent Bank from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James raised Independent Bank from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $74.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Independent Bank from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ:INDB traded down $0.89 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $64.11. 136,888 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 279,762. Independent Bank has a 1-year low of $45.11 and a 1-year 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 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $68.89 and a 200 day moving average of $61.52.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $250.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.24 million. Independent Bank had a net margin of 20.26% and a return on equity of 6.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Independent Bank will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. Independent Bank's payout ratio is 49.57%.

Institutional Trading of Independent Bank

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Independent Bank by 59.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 338,640 shares of the bank's stock worth $20,024,000 after acquiring an additional 126,791 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the 3rd quarter worth $2,060,000. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 51,722 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 0.9% in 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 period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 75.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 94,976 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,616,000 after purchasing an additional 40,697 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.