Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) gapped down before the market opened on Monday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $72.00. The stock had previously closed at $55.84, but opened at $52.15. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Independent Bank shares last traded at $54.54, with a volume of 53,838 shares traded.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Independent Bank from $74.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $78.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Insider Activity at Independent Bank

In other Independent Bank news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total value of $44,819.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $876,495.48. The trade was a 4.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Independent Bank

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 156.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 429 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Independent Bank during the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Independent Bank by 105.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the bank’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 810.2% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,338 shares of the bank’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,911 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day moving average is $62.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.12). Independent Bank had a return on equity of 6.57% and a net margin of 19.58%. The firm had revenue of $178.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.03 million. As a group, analysts predict that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. This is a boost from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is currently 53.15%.

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.