Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Position in Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 11,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Independent Bank by 3,383.0% during the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,110,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $386,970,000 after purchasing an additional 10,791,263 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 28.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 349,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,660,000 after acquiring an additional 77,874 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 347,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,120,000 after acquiring an additional 64,006 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Independent Bank by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 447,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,593,000 after acquiring an additional 59,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Independent Bank by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 523,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,237,000 after purchasing an additional 53,938 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Independent Bank news, Director Michael M. Magee, Jr. sold 6,404 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total transaction of $198,524.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $259,811. The trade was a 43.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 5.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Independent Bank Price Performance

IBCP stock opened at $31.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $663.59 million, a PE ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.85. Independent Bank Co. has a 1 year low of $22.53 and a 1 year high of $40.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.04. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 20.67%. The business had revenue of $54.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.25 million. Equities analysts forecast that Independent Bank Co. will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on IBCP shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Independent Bank from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Independent Bank from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Independent Bank from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

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.