Prudential Financial Inc. Has $5.34 Million Holdings in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,232 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 14,410 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $5,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 105.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Independent Bank by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,911 shares of the bank’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in Independent Bank by 364.9% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 2,213 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Independent Bank in the 3rd quarter worth $222,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Independent Bank

In related news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of Independent Bank stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total transaction of $44,819.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,495.48. This trade represents a 4.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on INDB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Independent Bank from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (up from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Independent Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ INDB opened at $62.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.31 and a 200-day moving average of $65.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 0.77. Independent Bank Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $45.11 and a fifty-two week high of $77.23.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 6.57% and a net margin of 19.58%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.21%.

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.