Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 336,109 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $23,111,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 1.32% of Lakeland Financial as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LKFN. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 18.8% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,480 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial
In other Lakeland Financial news, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total transaction of $36,437.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $329,527.50. This trade represents a 9.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director M Scott Welch bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $61.40 per share, for a total transaction of $307,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 39,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,394,600. The trade was a 14.71 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.
Lakeland Financial Stock Up 1.4 %
Lakeland Financial stock traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $54.52. The stock had a trading volume of 122,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,023. Lakeland Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.74 and a fifty-two week high of $78.61. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.04.
Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.10%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have commented on LKFN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Hovde Group assumed 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 for the company.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Lakeland Financial
Lakeland Financial Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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