Budden Joan A 4

What Happened

• Joan A. Budden, a director of Independent Bank Corp (IBCP), received an award of 293.36 shares (reported as a derivative award) on 2026-05-14. The award was recorded at $33.71 per share for a total reported value of $9,889.
• The grant consists of Phantom Stock Units under the company's deferred compensation plan for non-employee directors; these units are to be settled in the issuer's common stock upon the reporting person’s retirement as a director, so this is a deferred/derivative award rather than an open-market purchase.

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-05-14; Transaction type: Award/Grant (code A).
• Price/value: $33.71 per share; total reported value $9,889.
• Footnote: 16.8393 of the shares included in the award reflect shares acquired through the company’s dividend reinvestment program (DRIP) during Q2. The Phantom Stock Units are accrued under the Independent Bank Corporation Deferred Compensation and Stock Purchase Plan for Non-Employee Directors and settle in common stock upon retirement.
• Shares owned after transaction: not specified in the filing.
• Filing timeliness: Report filed 2026-07-02 for a 2026-05-14 transaction (appears late); delayed filings can affect disclosure timeliness and are noted by regulators.

Context

• This was a deferred compensation award (phantom stock), not an immediate cash purchase or sale—typical for non-employee director compensation and does not necessarily signal near-term trading intent.
• For retail investors, director awards show alignment with shareholder outcomes over time but are different from open-market purchases, which often get more attention as bullish signals.