Bank of New York Mellon Corp Cuts Position in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 202,754 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,679 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.78% of Lakeland Financial worth $12,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 127,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,550,000 after purchasing an additional 3,329 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the first quarter worth about $229,000. Sippican Capital Advisors increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 11.5% during the first quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 21,610 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,284,000 after purchasing an additional 2,234 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 12.6% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 20,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 3.2% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 13,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the period. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Lakeland Financial stock traded down $0.66 on Thursday, reaching $64.26. 185,103 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 210,262. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $50.00 and a 1-year high of $78.61. The company has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $61.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.93.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.09). Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 12.71% and a net margin of 21.08%. The company had revenue of $90.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Lakeland Financial from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Transactions at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director Melinda Jo Truex purchased 8,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.11 per share, with a total value of $499,453.99. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 16,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at $992,235.77. This trade represents a 101.35% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Lakeland Financial

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.