Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN Shares Purchased by Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL

Key Points

• Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL has increased its stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation by 5.7%, owning a total of 199,111 shares valued at approximately $11.84 million, making it the firm's 21st largest position.
• Lakeland Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.9%.
• The company reported earnings of $1.04 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.93, although its revenue of $63.36 million fell short of estimates.

Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 199,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,650 shares during the period. Lakeland Financial makes up about 0.4% of Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL owned approximately 0.78% of Lakeland Financial worth $11,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $55,526,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,939 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Lakeland Financial by 301.4% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 6,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 4,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 127.5% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 7,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 4,035 shares during the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LKFN traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $68.45. The stock had a trading volume of 180,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,405. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $64.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65 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.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $63.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The company 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 of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Lakeland Financial's payout ratio is presently 54.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on LKFN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued 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. Hovde Group raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.00.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In related news, CFO Lisa M. O'neill sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,292,899.52. The trade was a 6.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 4,635 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,165,153.74. The trade was a 12.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,435 shares of company stock worth $497,769. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.