Copeland Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 764,186 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,247 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned 3.00% of Lakeland Financial worth $52,545,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 640 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. nVerses Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 60.0% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:LKFN traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $67.74. The stock had a trading volume of 58,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 148,612. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $57.45 and a 12-month high of $78.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.86. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66 and a beta of 0.68.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, January 25th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. This is a boost from Lakeland Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 3,959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total value of $290,986.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,386,912.50. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lakeland Financial 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.