Legal & General Group Plc Takes Position in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 57,209 Lakeland Financial shares worth approximately $3.53 million, representing about 0.23% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 81.15% of LKFN.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: Lakeland Financial has a consensus “Hold” rating, with one Buy and three Hold ratings, and an average price target of $66.50.
• Lakeland Financial exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.13 EPS versus $1.08 expected. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.52, equivalent to a 3.4% annualized yield.

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 57,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,531,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.23% of Lakeland Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in 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. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the second quarter worth about $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1,212.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 729 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LKFN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lakeland Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lakeland Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lakeland Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.50.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

Shares of Lakeland Financial stock opened at $60.57 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $61.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.07. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $54.36 and a 12 month high of $68.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 0.71.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 26.04% and a return on equity of 14.67%. The business had revenue of $70.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LKFN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.