Empowered Funds LLC Sells 10,414 Shares of Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP)

Empowered Funds LLC cut its holdings in shares of Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,414 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Independent Bank worth $2,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in IBCP. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Independent Bank by 86.6% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 109,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,768,000 after purchasing an additional 50,681 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Independent Bank in the 1st quarter worth about $1,168,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Independent Bank by 28.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Independent Bank by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 423,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,432,000 after purchasing an additional 92,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Independent Bank by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 206,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,579,000 after purchasing an additional 26,674 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Independent Bank

In other news, Director Christina Keller sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.85, for a total value of $45,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $136,754.55. This trade represents a 25.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IBCP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Independent Bank from $27.00 to $37.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

Independent Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IBCP opened at $37.29 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $34.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $778.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.99. Independent Bank Co. has a one year low of $20.50 and a one year high of $39.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.11). Independent Bank had a net margin of 19.93% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The business had revenue of $77.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Co. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Independent Bank 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.