Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Shares Acquired by Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its position in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 687.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 948,244 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 827,793 shares during the period. Independent Bank comprises approximately 1.2% of Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $60,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in INDB. Barclays PLC grew its position in Independent Bank by 75.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 94,976 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,616,000 after acquiring an additional 40,697 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Independent Bank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,060,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Independent Bank by 59.8% in the third 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. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Independent Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $5,586,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of INDB stock opened at $60.78 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $60.18 and a 200-day moving average of $65.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 0.82. Independent Bank Corp. has a one year low of $45.11 and a one year high of $77.23.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last released its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $178.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.03 million. Independent Bank had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 6.57%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.59 dividend. This is an increase from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

INDB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Independent Bank from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Independent Bank from $74.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Independent Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 26th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total transaction of $44,819.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $876,495.48. This represents a 4.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.