KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $378,000 in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake 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 fund bought 5,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $378,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 41.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 82,428 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,368,000 after purchasing an additional 24,030 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $776,000 after acquiring an additional 3,417 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $306,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $199,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of the company'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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $329,527.50. This represents a 9.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director M Scott Welch purchased 5,000 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $61.40 per share, with a total value of $307,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,394,600. This trade represents a 14.71 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LKFN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set 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 assumed coverage on 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.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 4.9 %

LKFN traded up $2.62 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $55.61. 322,343 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 123,674. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $50.30 and a 1-year high of $78.61. The stock's 50-day moving average is $62.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.75. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. This is a boost from Lakeland Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.10%.

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.