Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN Stock Position Cut by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 432 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Lakeland Financial were worth $202,000 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 stock. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 40.5% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 2.2% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 12,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 16.4% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KFG Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 2.5% during the second quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $789,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $57.23 on Friday. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $50.00 and a fifty-two week high of $78.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $64.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.88. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10 and a beta of 0.59.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $69.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.15 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.77% and a net margin of 23.23%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 24th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is currently 52.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LKFN shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective (down from $74.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Lakeland Financial from $68.00 to $66.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 4,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.07, for a total transaction of $310,869.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 32,282 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,165,153.74. The trade was a 12.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.