Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Short Interest Down 17.2% in January

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) saw a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 993,300 shares, a drop of 17.2% from the January 15th total of 1,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 266,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on INDB shares. 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.00.

Insider Activity at Independent Bank

In related news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 12,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,495.48. This represents a 4.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independent Bank

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Independent Bank by 105.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the bank’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Independent Bank by 810.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,338 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Independent Bank by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,911 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:INDB traded down $0.48 on Monday, reaching $68.53. The company had a trading volume of 199,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 238,081. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.77. Independent Bank has a 52-week low of $45.11 and a 52-week high of $77.23. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.69.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts expect that Independent Bank will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.44%.

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.