Citigroup Inc. Sells 22,429 Shares of Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

Citigroup Inc. decreased its position in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 26.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 62,068 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 22,429 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Independent Bank were worth $4,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of INDB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,943,817 shares of the bank’s stock worth $411,134,000 after buying an additional 769,086 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Independent Bank by 57.9% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,703,144 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $107,102,000 after acquiring an additional 624,833 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Independent Bank by 0.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,049,086 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,980,000 after purchasing an additional 6,889 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Independent Bank by 78.7% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 657,570 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,351,000 after purchasing an additional 289,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FJ Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 26.4% in the second quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 649,320 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,832,000 after purchasing an additional 135,751 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ INDB opened at $79.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 0.79. Independent Bank Corp. has a one year low of $52.15 and a one year high of $87.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.64. 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 results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a net margin of 17.51% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The firm had revenue of $253.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.64 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Independent Bank Corp. will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Monday, December 29th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 29th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is presently 53.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Independent Bank news, Director John J. Morrissey sold 1,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.70, for a total transaction of $170,371.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,747 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,417.90. This trade represents a 13.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $44,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,125,995. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 2,917 shares of company stock valued at $244,853 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

INDB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Independent Research set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Independent Bank from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Independent Bank currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.50.

Independent Bank Company Profile

Independent Bank Group, Inc (NASDAQ:INDB) is a bank holding company headquartered in McKinney, Texas, that provides a range of financial services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Independent Bank. Tracing its roots to the late 19th century, the company has grown from a single community bank into a regional financial institution serving individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Independent Bank Group became a bank holding company in 1983 and expanded its footprint through organic growth and strategic acquisitions.

The company’s primary business activities encompass retail and commercial banking, including deposit products, consumer and business lending and credit services.