Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,857 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $229,000.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKFN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 956,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,773,000 after acquiring an additional 51,624 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 807,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,526,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $23,111,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased 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 acquiring an additional 107,765 shares during the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Transactions at Lakeland Financial
In other news, Director Melinda Jo Truex acquired 8,309 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $60.11 per share, with a total value of $499,453.99. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $992,235.77. This represents a 101.35% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Lakeland Financial Trading Down 0.1%
NASDAQ LKFN traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 126,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 144,101. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $50.00 and a 52-week high of $78.61. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $61.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 0.60.
Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 21.08% and a return on equity of 12.71%. The business had revenue of $90.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.54 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. Research analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.
Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages 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 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Lakeland Financial from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Lakeland Financial
About Lakeland Financial
(
Free Report)
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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