Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,329 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.49% of Lakeland Financial worth $7,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LKFN. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 809.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 60.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $214,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of LKFN stock opened at $64.75 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $50.00 and a 1 year high of $78.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 0.60.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $90.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.54 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 12.71% and a net margin of 21.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director Melinda Jo Truex acquired 8,309 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $60.11 per share, with a total value of $499,453.99. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 16,507 shares in the company, valued at $992,235.77. This trade represents a 101.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Lakeland Financial from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Hovde Group raised shares of Lakeland Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

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.