Teacher Retirement System of Texas Cuts Holdings in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its position in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,598 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,029 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.07% of Independent Bank worth $2,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in INDB. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Independent Bank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Independent Bank by 105.4% during 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 stake in shares of Independent Bank by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,911 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Independent Bank during the 3rd quarter worth $222,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on INDB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on 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. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Independent Bank news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of Independent Bank 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,516 shares in the company, valued at $876,495.48. The trade was a 4.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Independent Bank Stock Down 0.7 %

INDB stock opened at $64.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.61. 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 Corp. has a twelve month low of $45.11 and a twelve month high of $77.23.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 6.57%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. 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.