Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC Sells 12,389 Shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC lessened its stake in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 476,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,389 shares during the quarter. Lakeland Financial comprises approximately 3.2% of Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC owned approximately 1.87% of Lakeland Financial worth $32,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 33,337.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,667 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $616,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $320,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 3.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 902,968 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,801,000 after buying an additional 27,214 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 40.3% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 15,229 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $992,000 after purchasing an additional 4,371 shares during the period. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In related news, Director M Scott Welch purchased 5,000 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $61.40 per share, with a total value of $307,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,394,600. This represents a 14.71 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing 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 that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total value of $36,437.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on LKFN shares. Hovde Group began coverage on Lakeland Financial in a report on Friday, March 21st. They set a "market perform" rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

LKFN stock opened at $59.44 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $65.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.49. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $57.45 and a 52-week high of $78.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 0.63.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Lakeland Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. 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 3.36%. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.