Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors reduced its Lakeland Financial stake by 31.3% in the first quarter, selling 17,768 shares and retaining 38,990 shares worth approximately $2.24 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 81.15% of LKFN.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with one Buy rating and three Hold ratings; the consensus rating is Hold with a $66.50 price target. Director Bradley J. Toothaker also sold 5,900 shares for about $357,658.
• Lakeland Financial beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.13 per share versus the $1.08 consensus, while revenue of $70.87 million fell short of estimates. The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.52, equivalent to a 3.4% yield.

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 31.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,768 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.16% of Lakeland Financial worth $2,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 729 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 20,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,184,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Lakeland Financial by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 9,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 186.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,431 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LKFN has been the topic of several research reports. Hovde Group upped their price target on Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lakeland Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lakeland Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lakeland Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In related news, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,900 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $357,658.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at $865,532.36. This trade represents a 29.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ LKFN opened at $61.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 0.72. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $54.36 and a 12 month high of $69.40.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.67% and a net margin of 26.04%.The firm had revenue of $70.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, July 25th were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.71%.

Lakeland Financial 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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