Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lowered its position in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,409 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 527 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in Independent Bank by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 518,119 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,097,000 after buying an additional 93,901 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in Independent Bank in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,663,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,463,000. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Independent Bank during the third quarter valued at approximately $399,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Independent Bank during the third quarter valued at approximately $659,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

INDB has been the topic of several research reports. TheStreet downgraded Independent Bank from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Independent Bank from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:INDB opened at $50.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.97 and a 200 day moving average of $54.81. Independent Bank Corp. has a 52 week low of $43.28 and a 52 week high of $68.75.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The bank reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $177.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.75 million. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 8.35% and a net margin of 26.02%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Independent Bank Corp. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a $0.57 dividend. This is a boost from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.83, for a total transaction of $42,264.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,941.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.