Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday. The company traded as high as $88.58 and last traded at $87.6850, with a volume of 33,784 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $86.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on INDB. Barclays lifted their price target on Independent Bank from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Independent Bank from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Independent Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.43.

Independent Bank Price Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.74.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 15th. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a net margin of 24.27% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business had revenue of $261.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $261.27 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 28th were issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 28th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is 37.93%.

Insider Activity

In other Independent Bank news, Director Thomas R. Venables sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.00, for a total value of $311,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,464,867. This represents a 17.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independent Bank

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 35.3% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 16,128 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,252,000 after acquiring an additional 4,209 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 49.5% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 10,510 shares of the bank’s stock worth $816,000 after purchasing an additional 3,481 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 95.7% during the third quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,100 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 3,962 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Independent Bank by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 99,713 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,743,000 after purchasing an additional 892 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Independent Bank by 37.8% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 121,950 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,469,000 after buying an additional 33,457 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Independent Bank Company Profile

Independent Bank Corp. is the bank holding company for Rockland Trust Company, a full-service community bank headquartered in Rockland, Massachusetts. Through Rockland Trust, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses, municipalities and nonprofit organizations.

Its offerings include consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, cash-management and treasury services, online and mobile banking, and wealth management.