American Century Companies Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 469,359 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 46,046 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.10% of Independent Bank worth $30,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Independent Bank by 105.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in Independent Bank by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,911 shares of the bank’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in Independent Bank by 364.9% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 2,213 shares of the bank’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Independent Bank during the third quarter worth approximately $222,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Independent Bank

In other Independent Bank 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 value of $44,819.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,516 shares in the company, valued at $876,495.48. This represents a 4.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Price Performance

INDB opened at $63.19 on Friday. Independent Bank Corp. has a 52-week low of $45.11 and a 52-week high of $77.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.64. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current 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 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%. On average, analysts expect that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. This is a positive change from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

INDB has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of 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. 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday.

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.