Millennium Management LLC Sells 46,510 Shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Millennium Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 50.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,585 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 46,510 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.18% of Lakeland Financial worth $3,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LKFN. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $23,111,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 54.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,242 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,126,000 after purchasing an additional 107,765 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,940,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $133,419,000 after purchasing an additional 100,001 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 132.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 134,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,248,000 after purchasing an additional 76,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 946,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,066,000 after purchasing an additional 43,312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 1.6%

Lakeland Financial stock traded down $0.96 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $59.30. 108,617 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 139,418. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $57.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.25. Lakeland Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $50.00 and a twelve month high of $78.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 0.58.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $90.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.54 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 21.74% and a return on equity of 13.31%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Lakeland Financial's payout ratio is 57.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Lakeland Financial from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Hovde Group upgraded Lakeland Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In other news, Director Melinda Jo Truex bought 8,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $60.11 per share, with a total value of $499,453.99. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,507 shares in the company, valued at $992,235.77. This represents a 101.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director M Scott Welch bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $61.40 per share, for a total transaction of $307,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 39,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,394,600. This represents a 14.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.