Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 5,497 Shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 51.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,122 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 5,497 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in INDB. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Independent Bank by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,305 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 2,687 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Independent Bank by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 26,469 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,377,000 after acquiring an additional 4,484 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its position in Independent Bank by 462.0% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 52,784 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,746,000 after acquiring an additional 43,391 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Independent Bank by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 310,381 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,146,000 after acquiring an additional 6,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Independent Bank by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 36,689 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,906,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $74.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Independent Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Independent Bank from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.50.

Independent Bank Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:INDB opened at $72.22 on Monday. Independent Bank Corp. has a one year low of $45.11 and a one year high of $75.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.63 and a 200-day moving average of $57.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70 and a beta of 0.73.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $250.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $173.24 million. Independent Bank had a net margin of 20.26% and a return on equity of 6.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 4th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

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.