FJ Capital Management LLC Sells 148,206 Shares of Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

FJ Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 39.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 230,533 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 148,206 shares during the quarter. Independent Bank comprises 1.9% of FJ Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. FJ Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $16,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of INDB. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new position in Independent Bank in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,506,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Independent Bank by 242.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 23,406 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,619,000 after purchasing an additional 16,581 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. raised its position in Independent Bank by 84.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 1,261,622 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,199,000 after purchasing an additional 576,183 shares during the last quarter. White Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in Independent Bank in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,792,000. Finally, Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in Independent Bank in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,511,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Independent Bank news, Director Joseph C. Lerner sold 2,832 shares of Independent Bank stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.31, for a total transaction of $218,941.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,253,581.65. The trade was a 14.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Friday, May 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Independent Bank has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.71.

Independent Bank Price Performance

INDB opened at $83.27 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $78.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. Independent Bank Corp. has a 52 week low of $57.01 and a 52 week high of $87.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 0.77.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.02). Independent Bank had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 19.14%.The business had revenue of $252.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $251.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Corp. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.79%.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Group, Inc (NASDAQ:INDB) is a bank holding company headquartered in McKinney, Texas, that provides a range of financial services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Independent Bank. Tracing its roots to the late 19th century, the company has grown from a single community bank into a regional financial institution serving individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Independent Bank Group became a bank holding company in 1983 and expanded its footprint through organic growth and strategic acquisitions.

The company’s primary business activities encompass retail and commercial banking, including deposit products, consumer and business lending and credit services.