Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 448,829 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $28,810,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Independent Bank during the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Independent Bank by 105.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,911 shares of the bank’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Independent Bank by 364.9% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 2,213 shares of the bank’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 1,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC bought a new stake in Independent Bank during the fourth quarter valued at $250,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Independent Bank Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ INDB opened at $55.39 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.84. Independent Bank Corp. has a one year low of $45.11 and a one year high of $77.23. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 6.57%. As a group, analysts expect that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This is a boost from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is 52.21%.

Insider Transactions at Independent Bank

In other news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total transaction of $44,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,495.48. This 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. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Profile

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.