Eric Ottinger Sells 2,136 Shares of Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Stock

Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) EVP Eric Ottinger sold 2,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.49, for a total value of $131,342.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,044,972.93. The trade was a 6.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Lakeland Financial Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:LKFN traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.32. The company had a trading volume of 93,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 172,263. The company has a 50-day moving average of $58.53 and a 200 day moving average of $58.97. The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 0.72. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.36 and a 1 year high of $69.40.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $69.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.42 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 25.81%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.3 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, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 24th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens set a $66.00 price target on Lakeland Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 19th. Hovde Group increased their price target on Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lakeland Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Institutional Trading of Lakeland Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 186.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 1,212.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 118.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $86,000. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lakeland Financial Company 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.