Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $547,000 Holdings in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 351 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,847,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,395,000 after buying an additional 42,862 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 781,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,920,000 after purchasing an additional 10,595 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 263,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,165,000 after purchasing an additional 12,486 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 0.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 232,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,327,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 219,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,276,000 after purchasing an additional 87,300 shares during the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $68.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 0.67. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $44.47 and a 1-year high of $73.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.88.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $68.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.70 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 23.70% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 25th were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is 53.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Lakeland Financial from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lakeland Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Insider Transactions at Lakeland Financial

In related news, President Kristin Pruitt sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $804,720.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 10,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $687,499.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, President Kristin Pruitt sold 12,000 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $804,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 10,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $687,499.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Brok A. Lahrman sold 415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.91, for a total value of $28,597.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,834.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,835 shares of company stock worth $862,268. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.