Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.59 Per Share

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 20th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.59 per share by the bank on Monday, April 7th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. This is a 3.5% increase from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57.

Independent Bank has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Independent Bank has a payout ratio of 33.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Independent Bank to earn $6.70 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.0%.

Independent Bank Trading Down 1.5 %

INDB stock traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $63.07. 351,379 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 246,571. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 0.77. Independent Bank has a 52-week low of $45.11 and a 52-week high of $77.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $66.27 and a 200-day moving average of $65.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 6.57% and a net margin of 19.58%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Independent Bank will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Independent Bank

In other Independent Bank news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of the business’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 $876,495.48. The trade was a 4.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on INDB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 15th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Independent Bank Company 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.