Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 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 grew its stake in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,339,253 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 20,603 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 5.49% of Independent Bank worth $146,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in INDB. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its stake in Independent Bank by 687.2% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the 1st quarter valued at about $13,414,000. Leeward Investments LLC MA raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 119,471 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Independent Bank by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,134,903 shares of the bank's stock worth $321,702,000 after buying an additional 116,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Independent Bank by 426.0% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 76,792 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,811,000 after buying an additional 62,192 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Independent Bank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.00.

Independent Bank Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of INDB stock opened at $67.24 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.06 and a 200 day moving average of $63.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Independent Bank Corp. has a 1-year low of $52.15 and a 1-year high of $77.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 0.87.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 18.93%.The business had revenue of $181.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $179.47 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Independent Bank's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.27%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.