FJ Capital Management LLC Has $16.85 Million Position in Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

FJ Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 39.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 230,533 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 148,206 shares during the quarter. Independent Bank comprises 1.9% of FJ Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. FJ Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.46% of Independent Bank worth $16,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in INDB. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Independent Bank by 14.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,943,817 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $411,134,000 after purchasing an additional 769,086 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Independent Bank in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,117,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Independent Bank by 57.9% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,703,144 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,102,000 after buying an additional 624,833 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. grew its position in Independent Bank by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 1,261,622 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,199,000 after buying an additional 576,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC grew its position in Independent Bank by 473.0% during the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 349,635 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,184,000 after buying an additional 288,613 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Independent Bank news, Director Joseph C. Lerner sold 2,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.31, for a total transaction of $218,941.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,215 shares in the company, valued at $1,253,581.65. This trade represents a 14.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Independent Bank Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of INDB opened at $83.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 0.77. 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 12 month low of $57.01 and a 12 month high of $87.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $78.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.75.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $252.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Independent Bank Corp. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

INDB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $97.00 target price on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on Independent Bank in a research report on Friday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on Independent Bank from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Stephens initiated coverage on Independent Bank in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Independent Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.