Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 631,045 Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

Norges Bank bought a new position in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 631,045 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $46,117,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.27% of Independent Bank at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Independent Bank by 167.2% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 358 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the third quarter valued at $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 233.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 659 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Independent Bank

In other 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 transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Independent Bank Trading Down 0.2%

Independent Bank stock opened at $79.45 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Independent Bank Corp. has a 52 week low of $57.01 and a 52 week high of $87.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $78.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.43.

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). 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 period last year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Corp. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Independent Bank Company Profile

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.