Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 20,603 Shares of Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Independent Bank Corp. by 0.9%, owning a total of 2,339,253 shares valued at approximately $146.55 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc., have significantly increased their stakes in Independent Bank recently, highlighting growing interest in the company.
• Independent Bank has recently received a moderate buy rating from Wall Street analysts, with a consensus price target of $71.00 per share, reflecting positive growth expectations.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,339,253 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 20,603 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.49% of Independent Bank worth $146,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of INDB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 2.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,134,903 shares of the bank's stock worth $321,702,000 after purchasing an additional 116,820 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 687.2% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 948,244 shares of the bank's stock worth $60,868,000 after purchasing an additional 827,793 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 549,547 shares of the bank's stock worth $34,429,000 after buying an additional 4,599 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Independent Bank by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 354,168 shares of the bank's stock valued at $22,734,000 after purchasing an additional 35,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 68.6% during the 1st quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 293,736 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,403,000 after acquiring an additional 119,471 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:INDB traded up $0.75 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.31. 252,847 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 359,855. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $65.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 0.87. Independent Bank Corp. has a 1-year low of $52.15 and a 1-year high of $77.23.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $181.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.47 million. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 18.93%. Sell-side analysts expect that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Independent Bank's payout ratio is currently 53.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on INDB. Wall Street Zen upgraded Independent Bank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Zacks Research lowered Independent Bank from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Independent Bank 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.