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

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

INDB has been the subject of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Independent Bank from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James reissued 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 Price Performance

INDB opened at $63.66 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $66.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.53. Independent Bank has a 1 year low of $45.11 and a 1 year high of $77.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.08 and a beta of 0.77.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts anticipate that Independent Bank will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of Independent Bank 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 in the company, valued at approximately $876,495.48. This trade represents a 4.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Independent Bank by 106.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 25,077 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 12,904 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in Independent Bank during the third quarter valued at approximately $535,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in 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. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $16,773,000 after buying an additional 28,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,792 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.