Isthmus Partners LLC Buys 245 Shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

Isthmus Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 37,313 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 245 shares during the quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $2,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Amundi raised its stake in Independent Bank by 186.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 21,419 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,335,000 after buying an additional 13,940 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Independent Bank in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,646,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Independent Bank in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,515,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 544,948 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,980,000 after purchasing an additional 21,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Independent Bank by 105.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the bank’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Independent Bank Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ INDB opened at $63.08 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $66.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 0.77. Independent Bank Corp. has a 12 month low of $45.11 and a 12 month high of $77.23.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 6.57%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 50.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on INDB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Independent Bank from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total transaction of $44,819.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,495.48. This trade represents a 4.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Company Profile

Independent Bank Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Rockland Trust Company that provides commercial banking products and services to individuals and small-to-medium sized businesses in the United States. The company provides interest checking, money market, and savings accounts, as well as demand deposits and time certificates of deposit.