American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 3,663 Shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 2.9%, owning approximately 0.51% of the company, worth about $7.76 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Lakeland Financial's stock recently opened at $68.38, with a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, and a PE ratio of 18.63, indicating a stable value in the financial service sector.
• The firm reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.04 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, translating to an annual yield of 2.9%.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 130,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,663 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.51% of Lakeland Financial worth $7,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LKFN. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the first quarter valued at about $4,795,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 9,426.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 64,492 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,833,000 after purchasing an additional 63,815 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 5.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 999,033 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,383,000 after acquiring an additional 52,753 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 956,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,773,000 after acquiring an additional 51,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 107,263 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,375,000 after acquiring an additional 31,845 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lakeland Financial news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 4,635 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.07, for a total transaction of $310,869.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,282 shares in the company, valued at $2,165,153.74. This represents a 12.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Lisa M. O'neill sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.72, for a total value of $166,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,292,899.52. This trade represents a 6.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,435 shares of company stock worth $497,769. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:LKFN traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.44. The stock had a trading volume of 174,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,733. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38 and a beta of 0.64. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $50.00 and a 1 year high of $78.61. The business's 50 day moving average price is $64.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.20.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 22.55%.The company had revenue of $63.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.02 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on LKFN. Hovde Group upgraded Lakeland Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.00.

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.