NFJ Investment Group LLC Invests $14.37 Million in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group purchased 232,747 Lakeland Financial shares worth approximately $14.37 million, while institutional investors collectively own 81.15% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mostly neutral: Lakeland Financial has an average “Hold” rating and a $66.50 price target, with recent downgrades from Wall Street Zen and Weiss Ratings.
• Lakeland Financial exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.13 EPS versus the $1.08 consensus estimate. The company also maintains a $0.52 quarterly dividend, yielding about 3.4% annually.

NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 232,747 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $14,365,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned approximately 0.94% of Lakeland Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $224,600,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 403.6% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 383,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $23,568,000 after purchasing an additional 307,371 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial in the second quarter valued at $12,857,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Lakeland Financial by 327.9% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 199,323 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,848,000 after buying an additional 152,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Lakeland Financial by 68.8% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 321,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,610,000 after buying an additional 130,897 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LKFN. Wall Street Zen cut Lakeland Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Hovde Group raised their target price on Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Lakeland Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lakeland Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.50.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In other news, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $357,658.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $865,532.36. The trade was a 29.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ LKFN opened at $60.44 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $61.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.22. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 26.04% and a return on equity of 14.67%. The firm had revenue of $70.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, July 25th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Lakeland Financial's payout ratio 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.

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