UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 6,815 Shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lowered its position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,815 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.15% of Lakeland Financial worth $2,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 130.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 50,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 28,851 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in Lakeland Financial by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Lakeland Financial by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 946,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,066,000 after buying an additional 43,312 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 51.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 22,846 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,571,000 after buying an additional 7,807 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,940,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $133,419,000 after buying an additional 100,001 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:LKFN traded up $0.57 on Monday, reaching $60.98. 100,106 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 139,877. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.85. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $50.00 and a 12 month high of $78.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.60.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 21.74%. The business had revenue of $90.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Insider Transactions at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director M Scott Welch bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $61.40 per share, for a total transaction of $307,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 39,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,394,600. This represents a 14.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Melinda Jo Truex bought 8,309 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $60.11 per share, for a total transaction of $499,453.99. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $992,235.77. The trade was a 101.35% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LKFN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Lakeland Financial from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Hovde Group raised shares of Lakeland Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

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.