Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,686 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the third quarter valued at $74,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Lakeland Financial by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of LKFN stock opened at $60.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.60 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $65.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.50. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $57.45 and a 12 month high of $78.61.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 21.74%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LKFN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Friday, March 21st. They set a “market perform” rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director M Scott Welch acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $61.40 per share, with a total value of $307,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 39,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,394,600. This trade represents a 14.71 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total value of $36,437.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,527.50. The trade was a 9.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Lake City Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest bearing, interest-bearing checking, savings, money market, NOW, and demand deposits.