AlphaQuest LLC Buys 5,017 Shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 187.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,017 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 72.2% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its position in Lakeland Financial by 215.2% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 15,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,019,000 after buying an additional 10,685 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $222,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 15.6% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 75,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,911,000 after acquiring an additional 10,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 33,337.5% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,667 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director M Scott Welch bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the director now owns 39,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,394,600. This trade represents a 14.71 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total transaction of $36,437.50. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

LKFN traded down $0.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $61.22. 135,078 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 133,070. Lakeland Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $57.45 and a fifty-two week high of $78.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 0.63. The company's fifty day moving average price is $66.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.96.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, January 25th were issued 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 yield of 3.27%. This is a boost from Lakeland Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Lakeland Financial's payout ratio is currently 55.10%.

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.