William Kessel Sells 2,000 Shares of Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) Stock

Independent Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:IBCP) CEO William Kessel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.28, for a total transaction of $74,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 157,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,884,126.08. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Independent Bank Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:IBCP opened at $36.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $804.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 0.70. Independent Bank Corporation has a one year low of $29.83 and a one year high of $39.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.06. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 14.12% and a net margin of 22.32%.The firm had revenue of $61.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Independent Bank Corporation will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 4th. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on IBCP. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Friday, September 4th. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Independent Bank from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Independent Bank

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Independent Bank in the fourth quarter worth $6,943,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 20.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 181,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,044,000 after purchasing an additional 30,582 shares during the period. Maltese Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC now owns 168,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,481,000 after purchasing an additional 13,500 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 35.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 110,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,679,000 after purchasing an additional 28,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Independent Bank by 50.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 91,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,034,000 after purchasing an additional 30,622 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Corporation (NASDAQ: IBCP) is a Michigan-based bank holding company whose principal subsidiary, Independent Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions. The company operates as a community bank, emphasizing local decision-making and relationship-based service.

Independent Bank’s offerings include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer loans, residential mortgages, home equity financing, commercial real estate loans and business lending.