Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,218,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,756 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 5.83% of Independent Bank worth $42,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Independent Bank by 1.5% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 26,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $889,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Independent Bank by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 647,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,597,000 after acquiring an additional 29,475 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 21,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in shares of Independent Bank during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Independent Bank by 38.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 82,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,748,000 after purchasing an additional 22,728 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $41.00 target price (up from $39.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Independent Bank from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

Independent Bank Price Performance

IBCP opened at $28.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $598.15 million, a PE ratio of 9.03 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.16. Independent Bank Co. has a 1 year low of $22.53 and a 1 year high of $40.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.10. Independent Bank had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 15.43%. Sell-side analysts predict that Independent Bank Co. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Independent Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in rural and suburban communities in Michigan. It offers checking and savings accounts, commercial lending, direct and indirect consumer financing, mortgage lending, and safe deposit box services.