EP Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $511,000 in Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,105 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $511,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,278,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Independent Bank during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,351,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,204,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the second quarter valued at approximately $584,333,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Independent Bank during the second quarter worth $4,269,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Independent Bank

In other news, Director Gerard F. Nadeau sold 5,307 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.69, for a total value of $449,449.83. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,431,853.83. This trade represents a 23.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ INDB opened at $83.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. Independent Bank Corp. has a one year low of $63.33 and a one year high of $87.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.71.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Independent Bank had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 20.31%.The company had revenue of $253.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $257.50 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Independent Bank Corp. will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 29th were issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is 46.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Independent Bank from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 20th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Friday, May 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Independent Research set a $95.00 target price on Independent Bank in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.86.

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.