American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Stake in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 469,359 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,046 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $30,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 338,640 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,024,000 after buying an additional 126,791 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in Independent Bank by 1,697.7% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 132,435 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,831,000 after buying an additional 125,068 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Independent Bank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,802,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Independent Bank by 681.3% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 101,431 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,511,000 after acquiring an additional 88,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Independent Bank in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,586,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ INDB opened at $63.19 on Friday. Independent Bank Corp. has a 12-month low of $45.11 and a 12-month high of $77.23. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a boost from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on INDB shares. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.