AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 13,542 Shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation by acquiring an additional 13,542 shares, resulting in a total ownership of 21,234 shares, valued at approximately $1.26 million.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a yield of 3.0%, reflecting a payout ratio of 54.50%.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price for Lakeland Financial at $70.00, with ratings indicating a "Moderate Buy" sentiment for the stock.

AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 176.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,234 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,542 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC owned about 0.08% of Lakeland Financial worth $1,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 40.5% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 631 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 12,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $768,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 66,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,933,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Institutional investors own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

Shares of Lakeland Financial stock opened at $67.56 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $63.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 0.63. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a one year low of $50.00 and a one year high of $78.61.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $63.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $67.02 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 22.55%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. Lakeland Financial's payout ratio is 54.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LKFN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Hovde Group upgraded Lakeland Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $68.00 target price (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lakeland Financial news, CFO Lisa M. O'neill sold 2,500 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.72, for a total value of $166,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,292,899.52. The trade was a 6.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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