Bank of New York Mellon Corp Makes New Investment in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon initiated a sizable LKFN position, purchasing 208,318 shares worth approximately $12.9 million, or 0.84% of Lakeland Financial. Institutional investors now own 81.15% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: Lakeland Financial has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $66.50, while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to “Sell” and Weiss Ratings lowered it to “Hold.”
• Lakeland Financial beat quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $1.13 versus the $1.08 consensus, though revenue fell short of expectations. The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, representing a 3.5% yield.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 208,318 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,857,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.84% of Lakeland Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LKFN. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $642,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Lakeland Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $206,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 17.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 4.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 321,410 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,443,000 after buying an additional 14,584 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 48,725 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,796,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LKFN shares. Wall Street Zen cut Lakeland Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lakeland Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lakeland Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.50.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $58.82 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $61.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.09. The company has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49 and a beta of 0.71. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $54.36 and a 52-week high of $68.55.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.67% and a net margin of 26.04%.The company had revenue of $70.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, July 25th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio is 47.71%.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LKFN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source