Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shares Purchased by Natixis Advisors L.P.

Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 66.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 219,097 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 87,300 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned approximately 0.86% of Lakeland Financial worth $14,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 33.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,902 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $308,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $1,544,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,452,481 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $68,935,000 after purchasing an additional 300,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 25.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 70,843 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,362,000 after acquiring an additional 14,357 shares during the period. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LKFN shares. Raymond James increased their price objective on Lakeland Financial from $60.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Stephens upped their target price on Lakeland Financial from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ LKFN traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $61.33. 70,972 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 121,914. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $43.05 and a 12 month high of $73.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.24.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 24th. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kyra E. Clark sold 500 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total transaction of $31,015.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $471,179.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Lakeland Financial news, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 893 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.93, for a total value of $58,875.49. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $209,261.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kyra E. Clark sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total transaction of $31,015.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at $471,179.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,628 shares of company stock valued at $1,799,298 in the last 90 days. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.