Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

INDB has been the topic of several other research reports. 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 report on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.00.

Independent Bank Stock Up 4.9 %

INDB opened at $67.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.78. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $68.49 and its 200 day moving average is $63.07. Independent Bank has a fifty-two week low of $45.11 and a fifty-two week high of $77.23.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 6.74% and a net margin of 20.26%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Independent Bank will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Independent Bank

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of INDB. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,157,917 shares of the bank’s stock worth $109,443,000 after buying an additional 186,680 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Independent Bank by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,017,400 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,170,000 after acquiring an additional 8,987 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Independent Bank by 4.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 523,659 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,964,000 after purchasing an additional 22,919 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 338,640 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,024,000 after purchasing an additional 126,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 258.9% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 299,234 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,177,000 after purchasing an additional 215,860 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.