Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 33.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,669 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 46,112 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Lakeland Financial worth $6,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,276,929 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $83,154,000 after buying an additional 27,556 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 946,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,066,000 after purchasing an additional 43,312 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 764,186 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,545,000 after purchasing an additional 18,247 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 605,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,406,000 after buying an additional 5,562 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,111,000. 81.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on LKFN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of 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 Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Lakeland Financial stock traded down $0.26 on Wednesday, hitting $60.98. 144,874 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 113,111. The company has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.63. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $65.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.60. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $57.45 and a 52 week high of $78.61.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 21.74%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase 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 3.28%. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephanie R. Leniski sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.94, for a total value of $92,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at $384,709.34. The trade was a 19.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $329,527.50. This trade represents a 9.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

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.