Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 18.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,092,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 253,726 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 4.20% of Lakeland Financial worth $64,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LKFN. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 40.5% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 631 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 809.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 60.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 81.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LKFN traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $65.19. 536,881 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 143,785. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $90.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.54 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 12.71% and a net margin of 21.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

Insider Transactions at Lakeland Financial

In related news, Director Melinda Jo Truex bought 8,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director owned 16,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at $992,235.77. This trade represents a 101.35% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on 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 Lakeland Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Lakeland Financial Company 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.