Vest Financial LLC Buys 20,930 Shares of Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 164.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,621 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 20,930 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Independent Bank worth $2,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in INDB. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Independent Bank by 910.4% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,078,311 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,556,000 after buying an additional 971,587 shares during the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Independent Bank during the first quarter worth about $32,175,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. bought a new position in Independent Bank during the second quarter worth about $31,927,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Independent Bank during the first quarter worth about $13,414,000. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Independent Bank by 21.1% during the second quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 731,272 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,268,000 after buying an additional 127,332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of Independent Bank stock opened at $69.84 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.59. Independent Bank Corp. has a 52-week low of $52.15 and a 52-week high of $77.23. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The bank reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 18.93%.The business had revenue of $175.25 million for the quarter. On average, analysts predict that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 29th were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 29th. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Independent Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Independent Bank currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.00.

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.