Man Group plc Makes New Investment in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Key Points

• Man Group plc initiated a Lakeland Financial stake, purchasing 57,985 shares valued at approximately $3.6 million, or about 0.23% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 81.15% of LKFN.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: Lakeland Financial’s average rating is “Hold”, with a consensus price target of $66.50 after rating downgrades from Wall Street Zen and Weiss Ratings.
• Lakeland Financial reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, exceeding estimates of $1.08, while revenue of $70.87 million fell short of expectations. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.52, representing a 3.5% annualized yield.

Man Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 57,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,579,000. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.23% of Lakeland Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $224,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,887,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $107,719,000 after purchasing an additional 19,967 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Lakeland Financial by 4.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,354,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $83,237,000 after purchasing an additional 57,252 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,049,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,867,000 after buying an additional 15,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the second quarter valued at about $30,699,466. 81.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on LKFN shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lakeland Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of LKFN opened at $59.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $61.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.10. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $54.36 and a 52-week high of $69.40.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.11 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.04 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, July 25th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.71%.

About Lakeland Financial

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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