Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC Has $703,000 Stock Holdings in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Key Points

• Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC significantly reduced its stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation by 82.8%, now holding 11,822 shares valued at $703,000 after selling 57,053 shares.
• Lakeland Financial reported earnings of $1.04 per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding estimates, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share with a yield of 3.2%.
• A director at Lakeland Financial, Melinda Jo Truex, increased her holdings by purchasing 8,309 shares, resulting in a 101.35% rise in her ownership, while the CFO sold 2,500 shares, reflecting a decrease in her position.

Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 82.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,822 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 57,053 shares during the quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 130,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,760,000 after buying an additional 3,663 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 12,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 80,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,811,000 after buying an additional 17,382 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $4,795,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 95,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,683,000 after buying an additional 7,433 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 5.3%

Shares of LKFN traded up $3.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.56. 223,073 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 160,285. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $50.00 and a 52 week high of $78.61. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $63.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.26. The firm has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 0.63.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $68.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Monday, July 28th. 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Lisa M. O'neill sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.72, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

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.