Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $2.16 Million Position in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 33,600 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,157,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned 0.08% of Independent Bank at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC raised its position in Independent Bank by 75.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 94,976 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,616,000 after purchasing an additional 40,697 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Independent Bank in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,060,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,586,000. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC acquired a new stake in Independent Bank in the 4th quarter valued at $250,000. Finally, Stablepoint Partners LLC grew its position in Independent Bank by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 23,394 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,502,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Independent Bank Price Performance

Shares of INDB stock traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $64.25. 41,860 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 290,119. Independent Bank Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $45.11 and a fifty-two week high of $77.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock's fifty day moving average is $60.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.25. The company has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 0.82.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $178.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.03 million. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 6.57% and a net margin of 19.58%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a boost from Independent Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Independent Bank's payout ratio is currently 53.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on INDB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Independent Bank from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Independent Bank from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 26th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Independent Bank from $74.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.