Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Shares Bought by Polaris Capital Management LLC

Polaris Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 123.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,339 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares during the quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Independent Bank worth $1,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Independent Bank by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 338,640 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,024,000 after purchasing an additional 126,791 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Independent Bank by 1,697.7% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 132,435 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,831,000 after acquiring an additional 125,068 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the third quarter worth about $5,802,000. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Independent Bank by 172.4% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 138,146 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,169,000 after acquiring an additional 87,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Independent Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $5,586,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of INDB stock opened at $69.28 on Tuesday. Independent Bank Corp. has a 52 week low of $45.11 and a 52 week high of $77.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 0.77.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 6.57%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

INDB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (up from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $79.00.

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.