Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $78.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Independent Bank from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st.

Independent Bank Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of INDB opened at $65.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Independent Bank has a one year low of $45.11 and a one year high of $77.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Insider Transactions at Independent Bank

In related news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total transaction of $44,819.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,516 shares in the company, valued at $876,495.48. This represents a 4.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Independent Bank

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in Independent Bank by 687.2% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 948,244 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,868,000 after purchasing an additional 827,793 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Independent Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $28,810,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 59.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 338,640 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,024,000 after acquiring an additional 126,791 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of Independent Bank by 1,697.7% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 132,435 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,831,000 after acquiring an additional 125,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 302.5% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 162,206 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,412,000 after acquiring an additional 121,906 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.