Lakeland Financial Corporation Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.50 (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 8th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be paid a dividend of 0.50 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th.

Lakeland Financial has a payout ratio of 49.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Lakeland Financial to earn $3.90 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.3%.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 0.7%

LKFN stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.24. 27,410 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 142,280. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $60.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.19. Lakeland Financial has a 1 year low of $50.00 and a 1 year high of $78.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64 and a beta of 0.60.

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 company had revenue of $90.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.54 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 21.08% and a return on equity of 12.71%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Lakeland Financial will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LKFN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target 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 upgraded shares of 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Melinda Jo Truex purchased 8,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $60.11 per share, for a total transaction of $499,453.99. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 16,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $992,235.77. The trade was a 101.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $6,500,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 48,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,901,000 after buying an additional 9,894 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $215,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 152,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company's stock.

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.