Independent Bank Corp. $INDB Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 43.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 101,746 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 76,953 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $7,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Independent Bank by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,943,817 shares of the bank’s stock worth $411,134,000 after purchasing an additional 769,086 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Independent Bank by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,606,415 shares of the bank’s stock worth $180,286,000 after purchasing an additional 250,651 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Independent Bank by 57.9% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,703,144 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $107,102,000 after acquiring an additional 624,833 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Independent Bank by 84.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 1,261,622 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $92,199,000 after acquiring an additional 576,183 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Independent Bank by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,232,467 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $90,082,000 after acquiring an additional 20,278 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Independent Bank

In related news, Director Joseph C. Lerner sold 2,832 shares of Independent Bank stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.31, for a total value of $218,941.92. Following the sale, the director owned 16,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,253,581.65. This trade represents a 14.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ INDB opened at $81.33 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14 and a beta of 0.77. Independent Bank Corp. has a twelve month low of $57.01 and a twelve month high of $87.00. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $78.34 and a 200 day moving average of $77.62.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.02). Independent Bank had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 19.14%.The business had revenue of $252.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $251.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Corp. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 50.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

INDB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Independent Bank in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $97.00 price target on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Friday, April 17th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Independent Bank from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Independent Research set a $95.00 price target on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.71.

Independent Bank 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.