Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shares Sold by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN trimmed its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 98,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,868 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.39% of Lakeland Financial worth $6,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Friday, March 21st. They set a “market perform” rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

LKFN opened at $53.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.64. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $50.74 and a 12 month high of $78.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.15.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 21.74% and a return on equity of 13.31%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director M Scott Welch acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $61.40 per share, with a total value of $307,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,394,600. This trade represents a 14.71 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total value of $36,437.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,527.50. The trade was a 9.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% 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.