Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 1.89 million shares worth about $107.7 million.
• Lakeland Financial’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $1.04 versus the $1.01 estimate, though revenue came in slightly below forecasts at $69.71 million.
• The stock pays a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.5%, while analyst sentiment remains cautious with a consensus rating of Hold and a target price of $66.50.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,887,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,967 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 7.39% of Lakeland Financial worth $107,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LKFN. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 60,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,614,000 after acquiring an additional 6,987 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 90.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 32,427 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 15,404 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,868 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $884,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 327.9% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 199,323 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,848,000 after acquiring an additional 152,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $215,000. 81.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LKFN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens set a $66.00 price objective on Lakeland Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lakeland Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price objective on Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Lakeland Financial stock opened at $59.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 0.74. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $54.36 and a fifty-two week high of $69.40. The stock's fifty day moving average is $58.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.95.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $69.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.42 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 25.81%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, April 25th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio is 48.71%.

Insider Transactions at Lakeland Financial

In other news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 2,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.49, for a total value of $131,342.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 33,257 shares in the company, valued at $2,044,972.93. This trade represents a 6.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven D. Ross sold 1,281 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total value of $80,062.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,562.50. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,419,050 and have sold 9,121 shares valued at $544,369. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lakeland Financial Profile

Lakeland Financial Corporation is a bank holding company based in Warsaw, Indiana, that operates through its principal subsidiary, Lakeland Bank. The company offers a full range of commercial and consumer banking services, including deposit products such as checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan offerings spanning commercial real estate, agricultural, mortgage, consumer and small-business lending.

Originally organized in 1893 as Kosciusko County State Bank, the enterprise reorganized as a bank holding company in 1984 to facilitate strategic growth and diversification.

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