Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 20,278 Shares of Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,232,467 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 20,278 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.49% of Independent Bank worth $90,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Independent Bank by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,943,817 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $411,134,000 after buying an additional 769,086 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Independent Bank by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,606,415 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $180,286,000 after buying an additional 250,651 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Independent Bank by 57.9% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,703,144 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $107,102,000 after buying an additional 624,833 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Independent Bank by 84.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 1,261,622 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $92,199,000 after buying an additional 576,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its position in shares of Independent Bank by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,046,475 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,476,000 after buying an additional 13,935 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Friday, May 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $97.00 target price on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays increased their target price on Independent Bank from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Independent Research set a $95.00 target price on Independent Bank in a report on Friday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Independent Bank has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.71.

Independent Bank Price Performance

Independent Bank stock opened at $79.57 on Monday. Independent Bank Corp. has a twelve month low of $57.01 and a twelve month high of $87.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $77.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

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

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. This is an increase from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.79%.

Insider Activity at Independent Bank

In related news, Director Joseph C. Lerner sold 2,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.31, for a total transaction of $218,941.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,253,581.65. This represents a 14.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank 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.