EP Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $389,000 in Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 6,213 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $389,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 156.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 429 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 1,328.6% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,300 shares of the bank's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Independent Bank by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,204 shares of the bank's stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in Independent Bank in the 1st quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Independent Bank during the 1st quarter worth $217,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

INDB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Independent Bank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of 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 issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.00.

Independent Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:INDB traded up $1.19 on Friday, reaching $71.28. 433,358 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 252,228. The company has a 50-day moving average of $67.54 and a 200-day moving average of $63.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 0.91. 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 data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a net margin of 18.93% and a return on equity of 6.39%. The firm had revenue of $181.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $179.47 million. Equities analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

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 $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Independent Bank's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.27%.

About Independent Bank

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.