Brokerages Set Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Target Price at $71.00

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the four analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.00.

Several brokerages have commented on INDB. StockNews.com lowered Independent Bank from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 26th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Independent Bank from $74.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $78.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of INDB stock traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $60.78. The stock had a trading volume of 270,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 287,184. Independent Bank has a 1-year low of $45.11 and a 1-year high of $77.23. The firm has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business's fifty day moving average is $60.34 and its 200-day moving average is $65.20.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $178.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $175.03 million. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 6.57% and a net margin of 19.58%. On average, research analysts forecast that Independent Bank will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. This is a positive change from Independent Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Independent Bank's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Independent Bank

In other Independent Bank news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total transaction of $44,819.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,516 shares in the company, valued at $876,495.48. This represents a 4.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independent Bank

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 687.2% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 948,244 shares of the bank's stock valued at $60,868,000 after acquiring an additional 827,793 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Independent Bank in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,810,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 338,640 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,024,000 after buying an additional 126,791 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Independent Bank by 302.5% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 162,206 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,412,000 after buying an additional 121,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 68.6% during the first quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 293,736 shares of the bank's stock worth $18,403,000 after buying an additional 119,471 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Independent Bank Company 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.