Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shares Acquired by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 15.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,194 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.30% of Lakeland Financial worth $4,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 72.2% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 8,304 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the first quarter worth $664,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 5.8% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 233,836 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,386,000 after acquiring an additional 12,846 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 132.5% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 98,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,042,000 after purchasing an additional 55,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 640 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Kristin Pruitt sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $804,720.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 10,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $687,499.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP James Rickard Donovan sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.42, for a total value of $52,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at $625,938.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Kristin Pruitt sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $804,720.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 10,252 shares in the company, valued at $687,499.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,950 shares of company stock valued at $868,383 in the last ninety days. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Lakeland Financial from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ LKFN traded down $1.39 on Wednesday, reaching $74.25. 104,066 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 115,733. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $52.90 and a 12 month high of $78.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.08. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29 and a beta of 0.65.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 22.85%. The business had revenue of $106.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. Lakeland Financial's payout ratio is currently 49.87%.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

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.