Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 8,363 Shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Two Sigma Investments LP lowered its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 55.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,363 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP's holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LKFN. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $23,111,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 107,765 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 132.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 134,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,248,000 after buying an additional 76,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 5.7% during 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 buying an additional 51,624 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Melinda Jo Truex acquired 8,309 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $60.11 per share, with a total value of $499,453.99. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 16,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $992,235.77. This trade represents a 101.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephanie R. Leniski sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.94, for a total value of $92,910.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at $384,709.34. This represents a 19.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 2.7%

Lakeland Financial stock traded down $1.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $58.92. 103,738 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 139,936. The stock's fifty day moving average is $57.60 and its 200-day moving average is $63.71. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $50.00 and a 12 month high of $78.61. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23 and a beta of 0.60.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $90.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.54 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 21.74% and a return on equity of 13.31%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. Lakeland Financial's payout ratio is 57.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on LKFN. Hovde Group raised Lakeland Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Lakeland Financial from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

About Lakeland Financial

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.