Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys 13,759 Shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation by 4.1% during the first quarter, owning a total of 349,868 shares valued at approximately $20.8 million.
• Analysts have given Lakeland Financial an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $70.00, following positive updates from Hovde Group and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.9%, with a payout ratio of 54.5%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 349,868 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,759 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 1.37% of Lakeland Financial worth $20,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LKFN. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 40.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 631 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 60.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 16.4% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the first quarter valued at $229,000. 81.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:LKFN traded down $0.28 on Monday, hitting $68.45. The stock had a trading volume of 180,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,349. The stock has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65 and a beta of 0.64. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $64.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.16. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $50.00 and a 52-week high of $78.61.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.11. The business 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 4,635 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.07, for a total value of $310,869.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 32,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,165,153.74. This trade represents a 12.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lisa M. O'neill sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.72, for a total value of $166,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,366 shares in the company, valued at $2,292,899.52. This trade represents a 6.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,435 shares of company stock worth $497,769 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LKFN shares. Hovde Group raised Lakeland Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $68.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.00.

About Lakeland Financial

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.