Rafferty Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has decreased its stake in Independent Bank Corp. by 22.2%, selling 11,350 shares during the first quarter, leading to ownership of 39,691 shares valued at approximately $2.49 million.
• Other institutional investors have increased their stakes, with Vanguard Group lifting its position by 2.3% and Deprince Race & Zollo raising it by an impressive 687.2%.
• The bank recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.59 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.3% with a payout ratio of 53.27%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Free Report) by 22.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,691 shares of the bank's stock after selling 11,350 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.09% of Independent Bank worth $2,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,134,903 shares of the bank's stock valued at $321,702,000 after buying an additional 116,820 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Independent Bank by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,339,253 shares of the bank's stock valued at $146,554,000 after purchasing an additional 20,603 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its stake in Independent Bank by 687.2% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 948,244 shares of the bank's stock valued at $60,868,000 after purchasing an additional 827,793 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Independent Bank by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 549,547 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,429,000 after purchasing an additional 4,599 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Independent Bank by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 354,168 shares of the bank's stock valued at $22,734,000 after purchasing an additional 35,165 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ:INDB opened at $71.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Independent Bank Corp. has a 1 year low of $52.15 and a 1 year high of $77.23. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $66.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.58. The company has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14 and a beta of 0.87.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 18.93%.The business had revenue of $181.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.47 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Independent Bank's payout ratio is presently 53.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

INDB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Independent Bank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Zacks Research downgraded Independent Bank from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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