Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) Director Sells $218,941.92 in Stock

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Director Joseph Lerner sold 2,832 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.31, for a total transaction of $218,941.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,215 shares in the company, valued at $1,253,581.65. This represents a 14.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Independent Bank Price Performance

NASDAQ:INDB traded down $1.53 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $77.55. The stock had a trading volume of 534,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 338,842. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Independent Bank Corp. has a one year low of $57.01 and a one year high of $87.00.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $252.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.45 million. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 19.14%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. This is an increase from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is 50.79%.

Institutional Trading of Independent Bank

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in Independent Bank in the third quarter worth about $6,506,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Independent Bank by 242.9% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 23,406 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,619,000 after acquiring an additional 16,581 shares in the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust purchased a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,856,000. Rockland Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 1,261,622 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,199,000 after acquiring an additional 576,183 shares during the period. Finally, White Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Independent Bank in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,792,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on INDB. Weiss Ratings raised Independent Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Independent Research set a $95.00 target price on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Friday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $97.00 price target on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Friday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.71.

Independent Bank Company Profile

Independent Bank Group, Inc (NASDAQ:INDB) is a bank holding company headquartered in McKinney, Texas, that provides a range of financial services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Independent Bank. Tracing its roots to the late 19th century, the company has grown from a single community bank into a regional financial institution serving individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Independent Bank Group became a bank holding company in 1983 and expanded its footprint through organic growth and strategic acquisitions.

The company’s primary business activities encompass retail and commercial banking, including deposit products, consumer and business lending and credit services.