PL Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 10,791,263 Shares of Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP)

PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) by 3,383.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,110,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,791,263 shares during the period. Independent Bank comprises 4.5% of PL Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. PL Capital Advisors LLC owned about 53.18% of Independent Bank worth $386,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IBCP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Independent Bank by 202.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 171,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,706,000 after acquiring an additional 114,487 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $11,660,000 after buying an additional 77,874 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 7.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,034,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,510,000 after buying an additional 69,504 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 132,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,606,000 after acquiring an additional 38,157 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 647,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,597,000 after acquiring an additional 29,475 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IBCP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $41.00 target price (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Independent Bank Stock Up 0.4 %

IBCP stock opened at $33.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.77. Independent Bank Co. has a 12 month low of $22.53 and a 12 month high of $40.32. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $700.78 million, a P/E ratio of 10.61 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.10. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 20.67%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Co. will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This is an increase from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.91%.

About Independent Bank

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.