Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 116,339 Shares of Independent Bank Corporation $IBCP

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Independent Bank Corporation by 9.5%, bringing its total ownership to approximately 6.37%, valued at $41.1 million.
• In recent insider transactions, Director Terance L. Beia and EVP Gavin A. Mohr both acquired shares, increasing their ownership by 4.77% and 9.16%, respectively.
• DA Davidson raised their target price for Independent Bank shares from $35 to $37, maintaining a "neutral" rating, with an average target price across analysts set at $36.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Independent Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:IBCP - Free Report) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,335,049 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 116,339 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 6.37% of Independent Bank worth $41,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Independent Bank by 408.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 890 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Independent Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Independent Bank by 246.7% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Independent Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Independent Bank by 342.4% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Independent Bank from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Independent Bank presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.00.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IBCP traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $32.89. 163,768 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 84,884. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Independent Bank Corporation has a 12 month low of $26.75 and a 12 month high of $40.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.76. The firm has a market cap of $681.15 million, a PE ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.87.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. Independent Bank had a net margin of 20.31% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company had revenue of $55.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.72 million. Research analysts expect that Independent Bank Corporation will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Independent Bank's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Independent Bank

In related news, EVP Gavin A. Mohr purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $29.64 per share, for a total transaction of $59,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 23,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $706,202.64. This represents a 9.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Terance L. Beia purchased 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.65 per share, with a total value of $55,813.65. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 40,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,226,030.65. This represents a 4.77% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Independent Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in rural and suburban communities in Michigan. It offers checking and savings accounts, commercial lending, direct and indirect consumer financing, mortgage lending, and safe deposit box services.