Independent Bank Corp. $INDB Shares Sold by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC lessened its position in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 829,033 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 116,973 shares during the period. Independent Bank makes up 0.2% of Verition Fund Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Verition Fund Management LLC owned approximately 1.67% of Independent Bank worth $60,586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 10.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,451 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,274 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 2.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 599,898 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,584,000 after acquiring an additional 11,714 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 8.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 105,719 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,623,000 after acquiring an additional 8,435 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Independent Bank by 1,222.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 74,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,640,000 after purchasing an additional 68,458 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph C. Lerner sold 2,832 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director owned 16,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,253,581.65. The trade was a 14.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

INDB has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Independent Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Independent Bank from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $97.00 price objective on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Friday, May 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Independent Bank from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One equities 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.71.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Independent Bank stock opened at $83.27 on Monday. Independent Bank Corp. has a 12 month low of $57.01 and a 12 month high of $87.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.79.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $252.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business earned $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

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

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.