Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 233,836 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,846 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.92% of Lakeland Financial worth $14,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,847,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $120,395,000 after buying an additional 42,862 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 781,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,920,000 after buying an additional 10,595 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 0.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 232,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,327,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 100.9% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 145,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,477,000 after buying an additional 73,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Lakeland Financial by 132.5% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 98,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,042,000 after purchasing an additional 55,975 shares during the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kyra E. Clark sold 420 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.93, for a total value of $28,950.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at $494,641.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Kyra E. Clark sold 420 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.93, for a total value of $28,950.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at $494,641.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Brok A. Lahrman sold 415 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.91, for a total transaction of $28,597.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $119,834.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,635 shares of company stock valued at $914,604. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of LKFN traded down $1.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.36. 82,031 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 115,390. Lakeland Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $45.59 and a twelve month high of $73.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.08.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 23.70% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business had revenue of $68.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.70 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 25th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 25th. Lakeland Financial's payout ratio is 53.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Lakeland Financial from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lakeland Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $71.00.

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.