American Century Companies Inc. Buys 21,567 Shares of Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 234,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,567 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.12% of Independent Bank worth $4,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Independent Bank by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Independent Bank by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Independent Bank by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 55,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $944,000 after buying an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Independent Bank by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Independent Bank by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 12,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Monday, March 4th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock.

Independent Bank Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of IBCP stock opened at $25.07 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Independent Bank Co. has a 1 year low of $14.90 and a 1 year high of $27.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $24.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $524.21 million, a P/E ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.97.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $49.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.50 million. Independent Bank had a net margin of 20.34% and a return on equity of 16.28%. On average, equities analysts predict that Independent Bank Co. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is currently 34.41%.

Independent Bank Profile

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.