Barclays PLC Has $3.57 Million Position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Barclays PLC increased its position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.20% of Lakeland Financial worth $3,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 809.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 642 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LKFN opened at $54.84 on Tuesday. Lakeland Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.00 and a fifty-two week high of $78.61. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.84.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.09). Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 21.74%. The firm had revenue of $90.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on LKFN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Lakeland Financial from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Friday, March 21st. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.