Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) to Issue $0.48 Quarterly Dividend

Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 9th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of 0.48 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, May 6th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th.

Lakeland Financial has raised its dividend payment by an average of 15.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. Lakeland Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 54.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Lakeland Financial to earn $3.50 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.9%.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

Shares of LKFN stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $58.53. 68,422 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 128,959. Lakeland Financial has a twelve month low of $43.05 and a twelve month high of $73.22. The firm has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 0.67. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $63.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.10. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 23.85%. The company had revenue of $65.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lakeland Financial will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James upped their price target on Lakeland Financial from $60.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Stephens upped their price target on Lakeland Financial from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven D. Ross sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $83,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,773,814.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Steven D. Ross sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $83,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,773,814.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael L. Kubacki sold 26,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.51, for a total value of $1,902,166.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 39,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,846,098. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 53,728 shares of company stock worth $3,670,449 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,182 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 4,609 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 54,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,566,000 after purchasing an additional 16,397 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,847,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $120,395,000 after purchasing an additional 42,862 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 100,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,532,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 67.9% during the 4th quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 52,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 21,345 shares during the period. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.