Intech Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Independent Bank Corp. by 24.2% to approximately $3.16 million, owning 50,354 shares.
• Independent Bank reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.25 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.20, with revenues of $181.80 million.
• The bank recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.3%.

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Free Report) by 24.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,354 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 9,823 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Independent Bank worth $3,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 3.3% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,049 shares of the bank's stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 3.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,616 shares of the bank's stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 156.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 429 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake 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. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 1.8% in the first quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 37,994 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,380,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on INDB. Wall Street Zen upgraded Independent Bank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Zacks Research cut Independent Bank from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Independent Bank currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.00.

Independent Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ INDB traded up $2.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $72.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 300,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 276,457. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.83. Independent Bank Corp. has a 52 week low of $52.15 and a 52 week high of $77.23.

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

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Independent Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.