Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 76,953 Shares of Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

Key Points

• Clearbridge Investments cut its stake in Independent Bank Corp. by 43.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 76,953 shares and leaving it with 101,746 shares valued at about $7.44 million.
• Independent Bank reported Q1 earnings of $1.68 per share, slightly below analyst expectations, while revenue came in a bit above estimates at $252.72 million.
• The bank raised its quarterly dividend to $0.64 per share from $0.59, implying an annualized yield of about 3.1%.

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Free Report) by 43.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 101,746 shares of the bank's stock after selling 76,953 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.21% of Independent Bank worth $7,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in INDB. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Independent Bank by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,451 shares of the bank's stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Independent Bank by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,274 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,583,000 after buying an additional 1,112 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Independent Bank by 2.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 599,898 shares of the bank's stock worth $37,584,000 after buying an additional 11,714 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Independent Bank by 8.7% in 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 worth $6,623,000 after buying an additional 8,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Independent Bank by 1,222.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 74,057 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,640,000 after buying an additional 68,458 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Independent Bank Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:INDB opened at $81.33 on Thursday. Independent Bank Corp. has a 12 month low of $57.01 and a 12 month high of $87.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14 and a beta of 0.77.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $252.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Corp. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Independent Bank

In other news, Director Joseph C. Lerner sold 2,832 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.31, for a total value of $218,941.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,215 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,253,581.65. This 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 accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

INDB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens initiated coverage on Independent Bank in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Independent Bank in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised Independent Bank from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Friday, May 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.71.

Independent Bank Company 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.

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