Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN Shares Sold by Copeland Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Copeland Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 7.0%, now owning approximately 2.70% of the company, worth about $42.35 million.
• Lakeland Financial's stock price is currently at $63.17, with a market capitalization of $1.61 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding 3.2%, with a payout ratio of 54.50%.

Copeland Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 7.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 689,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 51,511 shares during the quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.70% of Lakeland Financial worth $42,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 20,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,253,000 after buying an additional 2,325 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $328,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 28,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,694,000 after acquiring an additional 5,651 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 60.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 5.6% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,711 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 0.5%

Lakeland Financial stock opened at $63.17 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 0.59. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $63.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.02 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 22.55% and a return on equity of 13.57%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 25th. Lakeland Financial's payout ratio is currently 54.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Lisa M. O'neill sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,366 shares in the company, valued at $2,292,899.52. This represents a 6.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 4,635 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,165,153.74. The trade was a 12.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,435 shares of company stock valued at $497,769 over the last 90 days. Company 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.

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