Deutsche Bank AG Purchases 7,807 Shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 51.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,846 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,807 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.09% of Lakeland Financial worth $1,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of LKFN. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68,875 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,736,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 50,150 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,448,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 16,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,954 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 0.1%

LKFN stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Thursday, reaching $59.99. The stock had a trading volume of 94,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,903. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53 and a beta of 0.58. The stock's 50 day moving average is $57.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.65. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $50.00 and a 52 week high of $78.61.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $90.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.54 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 21.74%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. Lakeland Financial's payout ratio is 57.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Melinda Jo Truex purchased 8,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $60.11 per share, with a total value of $499,453.99. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 16,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at $992,235.77. This trade represents a 101.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephanie R. Leniski sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.94, for a total transaction of $92,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $384,709.34. This trade represents a 19.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LKFN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Lakeland Financial from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

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.