Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 33,600 Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 33,600 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,157,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of Independent Bank as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Independent Bank Trading Down 0.1%

INDB stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $64.70. The company had a trading volume of 356,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 290,482. The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.22 and a 200-day moving average of $65.23. Independent Bank Corp. has a one year low of $45.11 and a one year high of $77.23. The stock has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 14.31 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.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $1.06 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 company had revenue of $178.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.03 million. Research analysts predict that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. 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 3.65%. Independent Bank's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Independent Bank from $74.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com cut Independent Bank from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 26th. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $78.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Independent Bank from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy 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.