Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Independent Bank from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Independent Bank Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:INDB opened at $64.13 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $66.22 and a 200 day moving average of $65.53. Independent Bank has a 52-week low of $45.11 and a 52-week high of $77.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.77.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 6.57% and a net margin of 19.58%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Independent Bank will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Independent Bank news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total transaction of $44,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,495.48. This represents a 4.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Independent Bank

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of INDB. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Independent Bank by 106.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 25,077 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 12,904 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the third quarter valued at approximately $535,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 59.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Independent Bank by 11.1% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 283,661 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,773,000 after acquiring an additional 28,373 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Independent Bank by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 206,079 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,228,000 after acquiring an additional 5,792 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Independent Bank Company 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.