Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Shares Sold by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 60.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,571 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 28,147 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $1,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of INDB. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Independent Bank by 106.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 25,077 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after buying an additional 12,904 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in Independent Bank during the third quarter valued at about $535,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Independent Bank by 59.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Independent Bank by 11.1% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 283,661 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,773,000 after buying an additional 28,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Independent Bank by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 206,079 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,228,000 after buying an additional 5,792 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on INDB shares. StockNews.com cut Independent Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Independent Bank from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.00.

Independent Bank Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:INDB opened at $63.08 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Independent Bank Corp. has a 1-year low of $45.11 and a 1-year high of $77.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.54.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total value of $44,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $876,495.48. This represents a 4.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company 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.