Analysts Set Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Price Target at $79.00

Shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the three brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $79.00.

INDB has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Independent Bank from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Independent Bank news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independent Bank

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Independent Bank in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Independent Bank by 105.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Independent Bank by 810.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,338 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position 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 during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Independent Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ INDB opened at $64.04 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $66.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.52. Independent Bank has a 1-year low of $45.11 and a 1-year high of $77.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 0.77. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 6.57%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Independent Bank will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.