Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN Shares Sold by Copeland Capital Management LLC

Copeland Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 651,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 37,372 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned 2.55% of Lakeland Financial worth $41,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,507,000. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 5.8% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $456,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial during the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 192.2% in the 1st quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 11,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $700,000 after buying an additional 7,746 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ LKFN opened at $58.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.05. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 0.73. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $50.00 and a twelve month high of $71.76.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $69.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.15 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 23.23% and a return on equity of 13.77%. Lakeland Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, October 25th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 24th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LKFN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective (down from $74.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Lakeland Financial from $68.00 to $66.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lakeland Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.67.

About Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Corporation is a bank holding company based in Warsaw, Indiana, that operates through its principal subsidiary, Lakeland Bank. The company offers a full range of commercial and consumer banking services, including deposit products such as checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan offerings spanning commercial real estate, agricultural, mortgage, consumer and small-business lending.

Originally organized in 1893 as Kosciusko County State Bank, the enterprise reorganized as a bank holding company in 1984 to facilitate strategic growth and diversification.