NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 9,485 Shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

NFJ Investment Group LLC lowered its holdings in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 152,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,485 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned approximately 0.60% of Lakeland Financial worth $10,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LKFN. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 809.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 62.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In other news, Director M Scott Welch bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now owns 39,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,394,600. This represents a 14.71 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Stephanie R. Leniski sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.94, for a total value of $92,910.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $384,709.34. This represents a 19.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Lakeland Financial stock traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $53.02. 784,919 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 129,334. Lakeland Financial Co. has a one year low of $50.74 and a one year high of $78.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.15.

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 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 anticipate that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Lakeland Financial's payout ratio is currently 55.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LKFN. Hovde Group initiated 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

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.