Magnetar Financial LLC Takes $456,000 Position in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC invested approximately $456,000 in Lakeland Financial Corporation, acquiring 7,678 shares in the process.
• Lakeland Financial recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.9%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Lakeland Financial, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $70.00.

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 7,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $456,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 40.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 631 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 60.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $229,000. Institutional investors own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 4,635 shares of Lakeland Financial 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,165,153.74. This trade represents a 12.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $166,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,292,899.52. This trade represents a 6.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,435 shares of company stock valued at $497,769. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:LKFN traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $66.54. The stock had a trading volume of 127,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,733. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $50.00 and a 12 month high of $78.61. The company has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13 and a beta of 0.64. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $64.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.24.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.11. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 22.55% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The company had revenue of $63.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $67.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.