Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 20,300 Shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its stake in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 130,068 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 20,300 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $8,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Independent Bank in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 105.4% in the fourth 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 period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Independent Bank by 34.5% during the 4th 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. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in Independent Bank by 364.9% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 2,213 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 1,737 shares during the period. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC bought a new stake in Independent Bank in the 4th quarter worth $250,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. 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 report 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 12,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,495.48. The trade was a 4.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of INDB opened at $55.84 on Friday. Independent Bank Corp. has a one year low of $45.11 and a one year high of $77.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 0.84.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $178.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.03 million. Independent Bank had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 6.57%. On average, analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a boost from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.21%.

Independent Bank 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.