AQR Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP)

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP - Free Report) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 143,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,346 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.68% of Independent Bank worth $4,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBCP. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Independent Bank by 3,383.0% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,110,248 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $386,970,000 after acquiring an additional 10,791,263 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Independent Bank by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,218,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,448,000 after purchasing an additional 25,756 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 523,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,237,000 after buying an additional 53,938 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 447,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,593,000 after buying an additional 59,339 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Independent Bank by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 349,631 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,660,000 after buying an additional 77,874 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael M. Magee, Jr. sold 6,404 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total value of $198,524.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,381 shares in the company, valued at $259,811. This trade represents a 43.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 5.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Independent Bank from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Independent Bank from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Independent Bank Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ IBCP traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $31.64. 70,986 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 108,292. Independent Bank Co. has a 12 month low of $22.53 and a 12 month high of $40.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $663.59 million, a PE ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.83.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.04. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 20.67%. The business had revenue of $54.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.25 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Independent Bank Co. will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Independent Bank's payout ratio is 33.12%.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Independent Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in rural and suburban communities in Michigan. It offers checking and savings accounts, commercial lending, direct and indirect consumer financing, mortgage lending, and safe deposit box services.