Moody Aldrich Partners LLC Buys 16,504 Shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 150,042 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,504 shares during the period. Independent Bank makes up 1.8% of Moody Aldrich Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $9,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,911 shares of the bank’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Independent Bank in the third quarter valued at about $222,000. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC acquired a new position in Independent Bank in the fourth quarter valued at about $250,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Independent Bank in the third quarter valued at about $257,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Independent Bank Price Performance

Independent Bank stock opened at $66.98 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $67.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.92. Independent Bank Corp. has a 52 week low of $45.11 and a 52 week high of $77.23.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is 50.44%.

Independent Bank 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.