Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 33,736 Shares of Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

Fisher Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 18.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 144,903 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 33,736 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.29% of Independent Bank worth $9,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in INDB. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Independent Bank by 910.4% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,078,311 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,556,000 after buying an additional 971,587 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Independent Bank in the 1st quarter valued at $32,175,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Independent Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,927,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,053,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Independent Bank during the first quarter worth $13,414,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Independent Bank

In related news, Director Ken S. Ansin sold 53,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.06, for a total transaction of $3,660,180.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,711,146.28. The trade was a 49.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gerard F. Nadeau sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,567,650. The trade was a 11.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $13,941,540. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of INDB opened at $74.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.01 and a beta of 0.81. Independent Bank Corp. has a 52 week low of $52.15 and a 52 week high of $74.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The bank reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 7.19% and a net margin of 16.64%.The company had revenue of $175.25 million for the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 29th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 29th. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is currently 57.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on INDB. Independent Research set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Independent Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Independent Bank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Independent Bank presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.75.

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.