Zacks Investment Management Purchases Shares of 9,194 Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,194 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $544,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Independent Bank during the second quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Independent Bank during the third quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Independent Bank during the third quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Profund Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Independent Bank during the second quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in Independent Bank by 29.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,378 shares of the bank's stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 1,231 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of INDB traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.39. 551,504 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 280,036. Independent Bank Corp. has a 1-year low of $45.11 and a 1-year high of $77.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The business's 50 day moving average price is $67.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.82.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 20.26% and a return on equity of 6.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Independent Bank Corp. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 4th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Independent Bank's payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on INDB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Independent Bank from $65.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $74.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Independent Bank from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.50.

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.