HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 16,581 Shares of Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 242.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,406 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 16,581 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $1,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Independent Bank by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,451 shares of the bank’s stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,274 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Independent Bank by 2.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 599,898 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,584,000 after purchasing an additional 11,714 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Independent Bank by 8.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 105,719 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,623,000 after buying an additional 8,435 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Independent Bank by 1,222.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 74,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,640,000 after buying an additional 68,458 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of INDB opened at $78.07 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54 and a beta of 0.79. Independent Bank Corp. has a twelve month low of $52.15 and a twelve month high of $87.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $78.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.43.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $253.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.64 million. Independent Bank had a net margin of 17.51% and a return on equity of 7.88%. On average, analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Monday, December 29th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 29th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on INDB shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Independent Research set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Independent Bank from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.50.

Insider Activity at Independent Bank

In other news, Director John J. Morrissey sold 1,988 shares of Independent Bank stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.70, for a total value of $170,371.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,747 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,417.90. This trade represents a 13.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas R. Venables sold 405 shares of Independent Bank stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total transaction of $29,941.65. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,519,779.01. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,917 shares of company stock valued at $244,853. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Independent Bank Profile

Independent Bank Group, Inc (NASDAQ:INDB) is a bank holding company headquartered in McKinney, Texas, that provides a range of financial services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Independent Bank. Tracing its roots to the late 19th century, the company has grown from a single community bank into a regional financial institution serving individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Independent Bank Group became a bank holding company in 1983 and expanded its footprint through organic growth and strategic acquisitions.

The company’s primary business activities encompass retail and commercial banking, including deposit products, consumer and business lending and credit services.