Copeland Capital Management LLC Sells 36,059 Shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Key Points

• Copeland Capital Management cut its Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) stake by 5.5%, selling 36,059 shares to hold 615,680 shares (≈2.41% ownership) valued at about $35.13M, while institutional investors own roughly 81.15% of the company.
• Lakeland declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share (annualized $2.08) with an ex-dividend date of Apr 24 and a yield of about 3.5%, payable May 5.
• Insider and performance note: Director M. Scott Welch bought 10,000 shares at $56.23 and insiders net purchased 25,000 shares over the past three months, and the firm slightly beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $1.07 vs. $1.05 consensus.

Copeland Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 615,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 36,059 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned 2.41% of Lakeland Financial worth $35,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 186.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1,212.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 80.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $215,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $226,000. Institutional investors own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LKFN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday. Hovde Group downgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lakeland Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.00.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Lakeland Financial stock opened at $60.03 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $58.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.06. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $50.00 and a fifty-two week high of $69.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97 and a beta of 0.72.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.02. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 24.51% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The firm had revenue of $69.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, April 25th will be issued 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 is Friday, April 24th. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.87%.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director M Scott Welch acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $56.23 per share, with a total value of $562,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 212,006 shares in the company, valued at $11,921,097.38. This represents a 4.95% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,685 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.36, for a total transaction of $331,776.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,177,588.08. The trade was a 21.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 25,000 shares of company stock worth $1,419,050. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.