NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 25,849 Shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group cut its Lakeland Financial stake by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 25,849 shares and ending with 449,242 shares worth about $25.6 million.
• Analysts remain cautious on LKFN, with an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.50 after several recent rating updates.
• Lakeland Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $1.04 and continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, implying a 3.4% annual yield.

NFJ Investment Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 449,242 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,849 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned approximately 1.76% of Lakeland Financial worth $25,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Lakeland Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,887,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $107,719,000 after acquiring an additional 19,967 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 4.4% in the 2nd 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. boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,049,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $59,867,000 after purchasing an additional 15,610 shares in the last quarter. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC now owns 493,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,681,000 after purchasing an additional 29,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 403.6% in the 2nd 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. Institutional investors own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LKFN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Lakeland Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 19th. Hovde Group raised their price objective 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 raised Lakeland Financial from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lakeland Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director Steven D. Ross sold 1,281 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $80,062.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,562.50. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,900 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $357,658.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at $865,532.36. The trade was a 29.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,336 shares of company stock worth $570,251. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

Shares of LKFN stock opened at $61.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $60.06 and a 200 day moving average of $59.21. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.36 and a 1 year high of $69.40.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $69.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.42 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 25.81%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, April 25th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.71%.

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.

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.