Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Shares Purchased by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 106,724 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $6,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 105.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the bank’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,911 shares of the bank’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 364.9% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 2,213 shares of the bank’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC acquired a new position in Independent Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $250,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on INDB shares. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Independent Bank from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Insider Activity at Independent Bank

In related news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total transaction of $44,819.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,495.48. This trade represents a 4.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:INDB opened at $53.62 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Independent Bank Corp. has a 12 month low of $45.11 and a 12 month high of $77.23.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.21%.

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.