Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) gapped down before the market opened on Monday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $72.00. The stock had previously closed at $55.84, but opened at $52.15. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Independent Bank shares last traded at $54.54, with a volume of 53,838 shares traded.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $74.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Independent Bank currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total transaction of $44,819.20. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independent Bank

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Independent Bank by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,206 shares of the bank’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Independent Bank by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 32,458 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,083,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its stake in Independent Bank by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 37,313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,395,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Independent Bank by 156.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 429 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,823 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Stock Down 2.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $62.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.84.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.12). Independent Bank had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 6.57%. The company had revenue of $178.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $175.03 million. Analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. This is an increase from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 53.15%.

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.