NFJ Investment Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its stake in Independent Bank Corp. by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, owning 166,477 shares valued at approximately $10.43 million after selling 9,505 shares.
• Independent Bank Corp. reported $1.25 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.20, with a revenue of $181.80 million against a consensus estimate of $179.47 million.
• The bank recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.3% and a payout ratio of 53.27%.

NFJ Investment Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 166,477 shares of the bank's stock after selling 9,505 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned approximately 0.39% of Independent Bank worth $10,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 1,328.6% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,300 shares of the bank's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,204 shares of the bank's stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Independent Bank in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Independent Bank in the first quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Independent Bank Price Performance

INDB stock traded down $0.35 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $69.50. The stock had a trading volume of 75,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 336,131. Independent Bank Corp. has a 1-year low of $52.15 and a 1-year high of $77.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 0.91. The company's 50 day moving average price is $67.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.67. 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 (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Independent Bank's 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.