Kennedy Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Key Points

• Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its Lakeland Financial stake by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 159,236 shares valued at about $9.1 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on LKFN is mixed but mostly cautious, with a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $66.50.
• Lakeland Financial recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.04, beating estimates, and also paid a $0.52 quarterly dividend, equal to a 3.4% annualized yield.

Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 19.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 159,236 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,479 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned about 0.62% of Lakeland Financial worth $9,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LKFN. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 403.6% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 383,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $23,568,000 after purchasing an additional 307,371 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 327.9% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 199,323 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,848,000 after acquiring an additional 152,738 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 68.8% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 321,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,610,000 after acquiring an additional 130,897 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the first quarter worth $6,500,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 122.2% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 130,229 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,431,000 after acquiring an additional 71,607 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Hovde Group increased their target price on Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lakeland Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Lakeland Financial from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Insider Transactions at Lakeland Financial

In other news, Director Steven D. Ross sold 1,281 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total value of $80,062.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,687,562.50. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $357,658.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $865,532.36. The trade was a 29.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,336 shares of company stock valued at $570,251. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $61.83 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 0.73. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.36 and a 1 year high of $69.40. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $60.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.22.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $69.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $70.42 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 25.81% and a return on equity of 14.79%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.3 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, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, April 25th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.71%.

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.

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