Quantbot Technologies LP Boosts Stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation by 544.0% in Q1, owning 21,806 shares valued at approximately $1.3 million.
• Several institutional investors also boosted their positions in Lakeland Financial, with First Trust Advisors LP leading the increase at 54.0% growth during the last quarter.
• Lakeland Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, resulting in a yield of 3.0% and a payout ratio of 54.50%.

Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 544.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 18,420 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP owned about 0.09% of Lakeland Financial worth $1,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LKFN. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 88,184 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,064,000 after buying an additional 3,268 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 51,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,573,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position 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 buying an additional 107,765 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 807,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,526,000 after buying an additional 6,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,041,000 after buying an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LKFN. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lakeland Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Lisa M. O'neill sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.72, for a total transaction of $166,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,366 shares in the company, valued at $2,292,899.52. This represents a 6.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

Shares of LKFN stock opened at $67.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 0.63. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $50.00 and a 1-year high of $78.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.13 and a 200 day moving average of $61.26.

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

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.50%.

Lakeland Financial 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.

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