BlackRock Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN – Get Rating) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,734,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 84,008 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 14.73% of Lakeland Financial worth $271,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 6.1% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,989,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial during the third quarter worth about $261,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 16.8% during the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 4,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 14.9% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,097,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,917,000 after purchasing an additional 142,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 1.5% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 520,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,897,000 after purchasing an additional 7,714 shares in the last quarter. 80.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Stephanie R. Leniski sold 2,157 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.66, for a total value of $150,256.62. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,938 shares in the company, valued at $204,661.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Brok A. Lahrman sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.37, for a total transaction of $38,703.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,376 shares in the company, valued at $96,829.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stephanie R. Leniski sold 2,157 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.66, for a total transaction of $150,256.62. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,661.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,051 shares of company stock worth $423,609 over the last ninety days. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on LKFN shares. Raymond James upgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lakeland Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th.

Lakeland Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of LKFN opened at $65.77 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $71.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.68. Lakeland Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $62.26 and a twelve month high of $83.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 0.74.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $85.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.70 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 36.89% and a return on equity of 18.38%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 25th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.54%.

About Lakeland Financial

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Lakeland Financial Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of banking products and services. It offers commercial and consumer banking, trust and wealth management, brokerage, and treasury management commercial services. The company was founded on February 8, 1983 and is headquartered in Warsaw, IN.