Caxton Associates LLP Acquires Shares of 13,011 Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP acquired 13,011 shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation, valued at approximately $773,000, increasing their stake to about 0.05% of the company.
• In its latest earnings report, Lakeland Financial posted $1.04 earnings per share (EPS), exceeding analyst expectations of $0.93, despite reporting revenue of $63.36 million, below the forecast of $67.02 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.0%, with a payout ratio of 54.50%.

Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 13,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $773,000. Caxton Associates LLP owned about 0.05% of Lakeland Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial during the first quarter valued at $33,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in Lakeland Financial by 40.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 631 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Lakeland Financial by 60.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in Lakeland Financial by 16.4% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $68.00 price objective (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.00.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of LKFN stock opened at $65.77 on Thursday. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $50.00 and a 12-month high of $78.61. The firm's 50 day moving average is $65.00 and its 200 day moving average is $61.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 0.64.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.11. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 22.55% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The company had revenue of $63.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $67.02 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 4,635 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,165,153.74. This represents a 12.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lisa M. O'neill sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,292,899.52. This trade represents a 6.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,435 shares of company stock valued at $497,769. 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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