Eastern Bank Boosts Stake in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

Eastern Bank lifted its stake in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Free Report) by 454.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,237 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 19,048 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank owned about 0.05% of Independent Bank worth $1,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stablepoint Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Independent Bank by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 23,033 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Independent Bank by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,154 shares of the bank's stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Independent Bank by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 5,737 shares of the bank's stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 2,129 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Independent Bank by 26.5% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 8,600 shares of the bank's stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its position in Independent Bank by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 50,706 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,572,000 after purchasing an additional 4,277 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of Independent Bank stock traded up $0.57 on Wednesday, reaching $62.74. 209,051 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 282,316. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.45 and a 200 day moving average of $55.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.74. Independent Bank Corp. has a 52 week low of $44.63 and a 52 week high of $68.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. The company 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 22.42% and a return on equity of 7.41%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Independent Bank's payout ratio is 44.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on INDB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Independent Bank from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Independent Bank from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Independent Bank from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $74.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.50.

Independent Bank 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.