Nuveen LLC Invests $4.80 Million in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has invested approximately $4.80 million in Lakeland Financial Corporation by acquiring 80,677 shares, representing about 0.32% ownership.
• The company reported an EPS of $1.04 for the recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.93, while revenue was $63.36 million, below the forecast of $67.02 million.
• Lakeland Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.9% and a payout ratio of 54.50%.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 80,677 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,795,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.32% of Lakeland Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LKFN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $68.00 price target (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lakeland Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Lisa M. O'neill sold 2,500 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,292,899.52. This trade represents a 6.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 4,635 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 32,282 shares in the company, valued at $2,165,153.74. This represents a 12.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,435 shares of company stock worth $497,769 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKFN traded down $0.28 on Monday, hitting $68.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 180,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,349. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65 and a beta of 0.64. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $50.00 and a 12 month high of $78.61. The stock's 50-day moving average is $64.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.16.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $63.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $67.02 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 22.55% and a return on equity of 13.57%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.50%.

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.