Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN Stake Lifted by Graham Capital Management L.P.

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation by 192.2% in Q1, acquiring an additional 7,746 shares, bringing its total holdings to 11,776 shares valued at approximately $700,000.
• Institutional investors collectively own 81.15% of Lakeland Financial's stock, with other major stakeholders including Charles Schwab and Silvercrest Asset Management also boosting their positions.
• Lakeland Financial recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 3.0% and a payout ratio of 54.50%.

Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 192.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,776 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,746 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 5.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 999,033 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,383,000 after buying an additional 52,753 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 956,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,773,000 after acquiring an additional 51,624 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 2.3% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 476,997 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,353,000 after acquiring an additional 10,728 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 4.1% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 349,868 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,796,000 after purchasing an additional 13,759 shares during the period. Finally, Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 5.7% during the first quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL now owns 199,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,835,000 after purchasing an additional 10,650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:LKFN traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.77. The stock had a trading volume of 69,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,859. The company has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 0.64. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $50.00 and a 1-year high of $78.61. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $65.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.25.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $63.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $67.02 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 22.55%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 4,635 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.07, for a total value of $310,869.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 32,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,165,153.74. This trade represents a 12.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lisa M. O'neill sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 34,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,292,899.52. This represents a 6.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,435 shares of company stock valued at $497,769. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Lakeland Financial 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.