Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,252 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,407 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $1,878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Independent Bank by 105.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Independent Bank by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,911 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Independent Bank by 364.9% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 2,213 shares of the bank’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Independent Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $250,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on INDB. StockNews.com raised shares of Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Independent Bank Trading Up 0.6 %

Independent Bank stock opened at $62.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 0.77. Independent Bank Corp. has a 12 month low of $45.11 and a 12 month high of $77.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 6.57%. Analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is currently 52.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total transaction of $44,819.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 through this link. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.