6,265 Shares in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Bought by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 6,265 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Independent Bank in the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 542 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,911 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in Independent Bank by 364.9% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 2,213 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC acquired a new stake in Independent Bank during the 4th quarter worth $250,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of 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 reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th.

Independent Bank Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Independent Bank stock opened at $62.48 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 firm has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.77. Independent Bank Corp. has a 52-week low of $45.11 and a 52-week high of $77.23. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.76.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 6.57% and a net margin of 19.58%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a positive change from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is presently 52.21%.

Insider Activity

In other Independent Bank news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total transaction of $44,819.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,495.48. This represents a 4.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

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.