Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp lessened its position in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Free Report) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 486,766 shares of the bank's stock after selling 90,454 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.15% of Independent Bank worth $31,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of INDB. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 206,079 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,228,000 after acquiring an additional 5,792 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Independent Bank in the fourth quarter worth about $5,586,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 40,697 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Independent Bank in the fourth quarter worth about $722,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Independent Bank during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,060,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on INDB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Independent Bank from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Independent Bank from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 26th. 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. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $78.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.00.

Independent Bank Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Independent Bank stock traded down $0.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $64.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 102,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 288,979. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.22. Independent Bank Corp. has a 1-year low of $45.11 and a 1-year high of $77.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $178.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $175.03 million. Independent Bank had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 6.57%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.68%. This is a boost from Independent Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Independent Bank's payout ratio is 53.15%.

About Independent Bank

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.