Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Stock Position Lifted by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,627,094 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 174,613 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 6.40% of Lakeland Financial worth $106,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKFN. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 20,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter worth $60,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 19,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 2,598 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $828,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens upped their price objective on Lakeland Financial from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Lakeland Financial from $60.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

LKFN traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.23. The company had a trading volume of 72,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 123,164. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.94. The stock has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93 and a beta of 0.69. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $43.05 and a 52 week high of $73.22.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.04%.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In other news, SVP Stephanie R. Leniski sold 2,560 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.17, for a total value of $161,715.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,270 shares in the company, valued at $269,735.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Lakeland Financial news, SVP Jonathan P. Steiner sold 3,328 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.73, for a total value of $212,093.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $193,675.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stephanie R. Leniski sold 2,560 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.17, for a total transaction of $161,715.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,270 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $269,735.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,128 shares of company stock worth $1,768,283. Insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Lakeland Financial 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.