Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) Receives Market Perform Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated their market perform rating on shares of Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $41.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $39.00.

Independent Bank Stock Up 1.0 %

IBCP stock opened at $35.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.14. Independent Bank has a 52 week low of $22.53 and a 52 week high of $40.32. The company has a market cap of $743.68 million, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 1.03.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.10. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 15.26% and a net margin of 19.93%. On average, research analysts expect that Independent Bank will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. This is a positive change from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.65%.

Insider Transactions at Independent Bank

In other Independent Bank news, EVP Gavin A. Mohr acquired 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $36.71 per share, for a total transaction of $29,368.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,662 shares in the company, valued at $685,082.02. This represents a 4.48 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Independent Bank

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IBCP. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in Independent Bank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Independent Bank by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 132,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,606,000 after purchasing an additional 38,157 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Independent Bank by 28.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 349,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,660,000 after purchasing an additional 77,874 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Independent Bank by 3.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 499,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,663,000 after buying an additional 1,831 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Company Profile

Independent Bank Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Independent Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in rural and suburban communities in Michigan. It offers checking and savings accounts, commercial lending, direct and indirect consumer financing, mortgage lending, and safe deposit box services.