KBC Group NV Increases Position in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 34.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,911 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in INDB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 338,640 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,024,000 after acquiring an additional 126,791 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Independent Bank by 1,697.7% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 132,435 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,831,000 after purchasing an additional 125,068 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Independent Bank during the third quarter worth $5,802,000. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in Independent Bank by 172.4% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 138,146 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,169,000 after purchasing an additional 87,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Independent Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $5,586,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Independent Bank Stock Down 0.7 %

INDB opened at $69.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.36. Independent Bank Corp. has a 52 week low of $45.11 and a 52 week 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.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 6.57%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on INDB shares. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $79.00.

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.