Victory Capital Management Inc. Decreases Position in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN)

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

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Lakeland Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 50,150 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,448,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Lakeland Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 126,892 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,725,000 after buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Lakeland Financial by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 32,843 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,258,000 after buying an additional 5,349 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $378,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Lakeland Financial by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 65,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,526,000 after buying an additional 4,044 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LKFN stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.97. 186,943 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 144,109. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm's 50-day moving average is $61.56 and its 200 day moving average is $61.92. 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 posted 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 12.71% and a net margin of 21.08%. The firm had revenue of $90.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LKFN has been the topic of several research reports. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Lakeland Financial from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director Melinda Jo Truex bought 8,309 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $60.11 per share, for a total transaction of $499,453.99. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,507 shares in the company, valued at $992,235.77. This trade represents a 101.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

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.