Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Monday after Raymond James upgraded the stock from a market perform rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $61.57, but opened at $64.53. Raymond James now has a $74.00 price target on the stock. Independent Bank shares last traded at $63.45, with a volume of 21,672 shares traded.

INDB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Independent Bank from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Independent Bank from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Independent Bank from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Independent Bank currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independent Bank

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Independent Bank by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,701,156 shares of the bank's stock valued at $86,283,000 after purchasing an additional 342,201 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Independent Bank by 258.9% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 299,234 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,177,000 after buying an additional 215,860 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Independent Bank by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,157,917 shares of the bank's stock worth $109,443,000 after acquiring an additional 186,680 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Independent Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,405,000. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 14.3% in the second quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 737,477 shares of the bank's stock worth $37,405,000 after acquiring an additional 92,438 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Independent Bank Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $60.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.74.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 22.42%. The company had revenue of $250.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $173.24 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Corp. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. Independent Bank's payout ratio is presently 44.02%.

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.