American Century Companies Inc. Sells 4,960 Shares of Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. sold 4,960 shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB), reducing its stake by 1.1%, and now holds approximately 1.09% of the bank valued at about $29 million.
• Independent Bank recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.36 and a dividend yield of 3.5%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with Zacks downgrading it to "hold" while Wall Street Zen upgraded it to "hold," reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $71.00.

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its holdings in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 464,399 shares of the bank's stock after selling 4,960 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.09% of Independent Bank worth $29,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 156.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 429 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 15.3% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,204 shares of the bank's stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. bought a new position in shares of Independent Bank in the first quarter worth approximately $203,000. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Independent Bank in the fourth quarter worth approximately $266,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Independent Bank in the first quarter worth approximately $337,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on INDB. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of Independent Bank from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.00.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:INDB traded up $1.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.66. 79,733 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 341,685. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Independent Bank Corp. has a one year low of $52.15 and a one year high of $77.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $65.40 and a 200 day moving average of $63.47.

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

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

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