Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 33,600 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,157,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Independent Bank as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of INDB. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Independent Bank in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Independent Bank by 105.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the bank's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Independent Bank by 810.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,338 shares of the bank's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Independent Bank by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,911 shares of the bank's stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Independent Bank during the fourth quarter worth approximately $255,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Independent Bank Trading Down 0.7%

INDB traded down $0.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.67. 244,469 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 292,570. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Independent Bank Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $45.11 and a fifty-two week high of $77.23. The company's fifty day moving average price is $59.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 0.82.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.12). Independent Bank had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 6.57%. The firm had revenue of $178.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.03 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. This is an increase from Independent Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Independent Bank's dividend payout ratio is 53.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on INDB. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Independent Bank from $74.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Independent Bank from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Independent Bank from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.00.

Independent Bank Profile

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.