Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $74.00 to $63.00. The stock had previously closed at $55.84, but opened at $52.15. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Independent Bank shares last traded at $54.54, with a volume of 53,838 shares traded.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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, StockNews.com raised Independent Bank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total value of $44,819.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $876,495.48. This represents a 4.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Independent Bank

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of INDB. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Independent Bank by 156.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 429 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Independent Bank during the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 105.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the bank's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 810.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,338 shares of the bank's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Independent Bank by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,911 shares of the bank's stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Independent Bank Trading Down 2.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.34.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $178.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.03 million. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 6.57% and a net margin of 19.58%. As a group, research analysts expect that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Independent Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. Independent Bank's payout ratio is presently 52.21%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.