Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Purchases Shares of 23,726 Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 23,726 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,523,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.09% of Lakeland Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LKFN. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Lakeland Financial by 248.0% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Lakeland Financial by 186.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lakeland Financial by 1,212.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 80.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 1st quarter worth $215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LKFN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Hovde Group lowered Lakeland Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 target price (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Lakeland Financial from $68.00 to $66.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.67.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

LKFN stock opened at $57.57 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $58.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19 and a beta of 0.73. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a one year low of $50.00 and a one year high of $71.76.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last released its earnings results 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 $69.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, October 25th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 24th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 52.77%.

Lakeland Financial Profile

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.