AlphaQuest LLC Buys 20,992 Shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 181.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 20,992 additional shares and bringing its total to 32,545 shares worth about $1.86 million.
• Lakeland Financial’s stock has seen heavy institutional ownership, with investors like Vanguard and State Street also adding shares; overall, institutions own 81.15% of the company.
• The bank reported Q1 earnings of $1.04 per share, topping estimates, and recently paid a $0.52 quarterly dividend that implies a 3.5% annual yield.

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 181.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,545 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,992 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC owned about 0.13% of Lakeland Financial worth $1,857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,887,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $107,719,000 after acquiring an additional 19,967 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 4.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,354,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $83,237,000 after acquiring an additional 57,252 shares during the last quarter. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 6.3% during the third quarter. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC now owns 493,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,681,000 after acquiring an additional 29,044 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 403.6% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 383,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $23,568,000 after acquiring an additional 307,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 68.8% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 321,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,610,000 after acquiring an additional 130,897 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Hovde Group lifted their target price on Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Lakeland Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.50.

Insider Activity

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director M Scott Welch acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $56.23 per share, for a total transaction of $562,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 212,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,921,097.38. This represents a 4.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven D. Ross sold 1,281 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total value of $80,062.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,687,562.50. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 25,000 shares of company stock worth $1,419,050 and sold 3,436 shares worth $212,593. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of LKFN stock opened at $60.22 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.21 and a 200 day moving average of $59.02. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.74. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $54.36 and a twelve month high of $69.40.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $69.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $70.42 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 25.81%.During the same period last year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, April 25th were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Lakeland Financial's payout ratio is 48.71%.

About Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Corporation is a bank holding company based in Warsaw, Indiana, that operates through its principal subsidiary, Lakeland Bank. The company offers a full range of commercial and consumer banking services, including deposit products such as checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan offerings spanning commercial real estate, agricultural, mortgage, consumer and small-business lending.

Originally organized in 1893 as Kosciusko County State Bank, the enterprise reorganized as a bank holding company in 1984 to facilitate strategic growth and diversification.

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