Norges Bank Acquires New Stake in Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 631,045 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $46,117,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,232,467 shares of the bank’s stock worth $90,082,000 after acquiring an additional 20,278 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Independent Bank by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 705 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Independent Bank by 2,626.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,854 shares of the bank’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Independent Bank during the 4th quarter worth about $1,012,000. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Independent Bank by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 41,970 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,067,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of INDB stock opened at $79.45 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.43. The company has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 0.78. Independent Bank Corp. has a 12 month low of $57.01 and a 12 month high of $87.00.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $252.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $251.45 million. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 19.14%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Independent Bank Corp. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on INDB. Hovde Group started coverage on Independent Bank in a research report on Friday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Independent Bank from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Independent Research set a $95.00 target price on Independent Bank in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.71.

Insider Transactions at Independent Bank

In related news, Director Joseph C. Lerner sold 2,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.31, for a total value of $218,941.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,253,581.65. This represents a 14.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.