25,643 Shares in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 25,643 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,646,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.06% of Independent Bank as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of INDB. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 8,987 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 544,948 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,980,000 after purchasing an additional 21,289 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Independent Bank by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 338,640 shares of the bank's stock worth $20,024,000 after buying an additional 126,791 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Independent Bank by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 206,079 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,228,000 after buying an additional 5,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Independent Bank by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 188,385 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,092,000 after buying an additional 69,753 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on INDB shares. StockNews.com upgraded Independent Bank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $78.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective 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.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total transaction of $44,819.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $876,495.48. This trade represents a 4.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.87% of the company's stock.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of Independent Bank stock traded down $1.95 on Friday, reaching $55.39. 479,896 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 279,506. Independent Bank Corp. has a twelve month low of $45.11 and a twelve month high of $77.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $65.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.84.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 6.57%. Analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.26%. This is a positive change from Independent Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Independent Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.21%.

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.