Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Reduces Stake in Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. cut its stake in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,036,188 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 10,287 shares during the period. Independent Bank accounts for about 1.5% of Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned 2.13% of Independent Bank worth $77,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 12,731 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Xponance LLC increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 3,981 shares of the bank’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Independent Bank by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 705 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in Independent Bank by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 8,303 shares of the bank’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Independent Bank by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Independent Bank news, Director Joseph C. Lerner sold 2,832 shares of Independent Bank stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.31, for a total value of $218,941.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,253,581.65. The trade was a 14.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ INDB opened at $85.00 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.62. Independent Bank Corp. has a 12-month low of $61.55 and a 12-month high of $87.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.02). Independent Bank had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 19.14%.The business had revenue of $252.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $251.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Corp. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 29th. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

INDB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Independent Research set a $95.00 price target on Independent Bank in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Independent Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $97.00 target price on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Friday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Independent Bank presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.57.

About Independent Bank

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.